I hate him
by Snavej
Summary: Mai and Naru finally spend the night together, but then he leaves without explanation, leaving Mai in a sticky situation. (Sorry I suck at Summaries!) Rated M for language and scenes of a sexual nature. Please review and bear in mind I will probably edit the story!
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"No, it's okay Nao-san. I will find somewhere else to stay." Mai sighed and rested her head in her hands. She listened to her friend a moment. "It's fine, really, you two have fun! I better go before Naru sacks me for slacking off. Bye!" She put the phone down and looked back at the work she was trying to do. Naru had asked her to rewrite the file on the last case before the end of the day, as her previous draft was 'too informal'.

But her heart wasn't in it; she was more worried about where she was going to sleep later that night. The young assistant had been kicked out of her old apartment and her new landlord wouldn't let her move in until tomorrow. So far, every single person she knew was either out of town, or had company over. Every person that is, except Naru.

The clock read 4pm. She had 2 hours before the SPR office would close. Mai wondered briefly if she could kip on the sofa in the office, but she somewhat doubted her boss would let her stay.

"Mai! Tea." Mai jumped at the sound of her name. She put her pen down and headed to the kitchen. Tea. It seemed to be the only reason Naru kept her around half the time.

A few minutes later she took the steaming cup on its saucer to her boss' office, and knocked.

"Come in."

Mai entered and carefully placed the cup on his desk, away from his papers. Then she waited, trying to build up the nerve to ask to stay in the office. She had to try.

"Mai, I thought you had gotten over the notion of me thanking you for doing your job."

"I live in hope, but I actually wanted to ask a favour of you." She smiled at him, hoping desperately it would win him over to her cause.

"No you can't have more time off. Now leave, some of us are trying to work."

"No, I don't want more time off!" Mai said angrily. "I was going to ask- Oh never mind." She turned on her heel and stormed out of his office, slamming the door behind her. She had only had one day off in the last month, and that was to visit her parents' graves on her mother's birthday. Admittedly, she had been late the next day, but staying up all night crying sometimes lead to oversleeping the next morning.

Back at her desk, she gave up the case file as a bad job, she would do it tomorrow. Finding somewhere to sleep was slightly more urgent right now. The SPR regulars were all busy; John was back in Australia, Masako on a shoot, Monk and Ayako were away on holiday together, Yasuhara was at university and Lin had Madoka over. Her old school friends were also all otherwise engaged.

"Maybe a hotel… Or a hostel." Mai mumbled, she opened up a web browser and started looking.

"Mai what are you doing?" A voice asked from right behind her. She jumped out of her skin. "Are you looking for a holiday?" Naru asked scathingly. "You won't be able to afford that once I've fired you." Mai hadn't notice him creep up behind her, she was so caught up in her own problems.

"No. I am looking for somewhere to sleep tonight." Mai said angrily. "Not all of us have the luxury of landlords who aren't scumbags. But soon as I'm fired I'll just leave then." She made to get up, but Naru pushed her back into her seat.

"Finish that case file today and I will give you somewhere to stay. How long for?"

Mai didn't look around, but his voice sounded different; less harsh perhaps...

"Just the night. I can move into my new place tomorrow."

"Get the case file done." And he strode off back to his office, closing the door behind him.

Two hours later, Mai was re-reading the final paragraph of the report.

"That'll have to do." She mumbled, and emailed it to her boss. Checking the time, she logged off and waited. Lin had left an hour ago to pick up Madoka from the airport. She was flying in from England to help out with cases for a while.

Naru said he would find somewhere for her to stay, which was uncharacteristically kind of him. Mai wondered fleetingly what he would find for her. Ever since he had returned from England last year, he had been more distant than before he left. Mai had hoped after finding Gene's body, that Naru would be happier. But his three year stay in England seemed only to sour him.

"Mai, come." Naru was standing at the door, holding it for her. Mai jumped up and grabbed her night bag.

"Where am I staying?" She asked as she waited for Naru to lock the office door.

"I have a spare room." He stated, with no hint of emotion.

"Oh, I don't mind staying in the office; I can sleep on the couch. I don't want to inconvenience you."

"No you can't. Security would throw you out. No one is allowed here after 7pm."

"But-" Mai started.

"Mai calm down, you will be staying in my spare room. Not in my bed." He smirked.

Mai blushed furiously and almost tripped down the stairs.

"My car is round the back." Naru lead the way to a small black two-seater sports car.

"Do you own anything that isn't black?" Mai asked incredulously as he unlocked it.

"Yes, my toothbrush is blue." Naru climbed in and indicated Mai should do the same.

Mai almost laughed.

"Let me guess, because they don't do black toothbrushes?" She teased.

"No, my mother bought it for me. Small things like that please her." He started the car and it roared into life.

"How far away do you live?" Mai asked. She knew from cases that Naru wouldn't allow music in the car, a theory backed up by the lack of radio in the car, so she made a stab at conversation.

"Not far." Naru said, unhelpfully.

"Did you read the case file?" Mai tried again.

"Yes."

"And?"

"Did I ask you to rewrite it again?"

"No." Mai took this as it was good enough.

A few more minutes of silence and they came to rest at some red lights.

"I thought you lived with Lin?"

Naru looked round at her and laughed.

"What?!"

"Are you really so stupid to think I would stay in the same apartment as Lin, when he and Madoka will be fucking every other night?" Naru had his eyes back on the road. Mai felt her face blushing again; she had never heard Naru swear before. "He lives in the flat below me."

Mai paused a moment to take this in, Naru almost sounded resentful of Lin. Was it because he had moved for a woman? Or was it because Naru was jealous of his friend's happiness?

Naru pulled into a gated driveway, leading to an underground car park.

"Come on." Naru got out, waited for Mai to do the same, and hit the 'lock' button on his keys. He then led the way to the lift. He used his apartment key to activate the lift and it whizzed up to the top floor.

Mai couldn't pretend that she wasn't impressed. The car had been fancy; the apartment block was obviously higher end than her own shabby flat and Naru's impartial face made her think that this was completely ordinary for him.

"Mai? Are you coming in?" Naru was staring at her from within the flat; she was still standing in the lift.

"Sorry, was caught up in my own thoughts." She followed him out, and felt her face drop.

It was modern and sleek, and everything was immaculate. Mai knew she shouldn't have expected anything else from Naru, but seeing it was something else. Naru smiled arrogantly at the look on her face.

"You can stay in this room." Naru lead the way to a large bedroom, decorated in red, with adjoining bathroom.

"Oh!" Mai gaped; the room alone was bigger than half her old flat. "Thank you!" She beamed at him.

"What do you want for dinner?" He asked, as she placed her bags at the end of the bed.

"Are you cooking?"

"Well how else do you propose acquire good food?"

"I don't know. Cook whatever you want. I'm not fussy." Mai ignored his 'you're an idiot' tone. "But preferably something I can eat with chopsticks. I'm awful at knives and forks." She added, remembering his extended stay in England.

Naru left without a word and Mai followed. The main room was open plan and consisted of a lounging area, a spacious kitchen with island worktop and a dining table. She could see two other rooms leading off from the dining area. Naru was fetching a small wok from a hook and placing it on the hob. Mai watched as he undid the cuffs of his shirt and rolled up his sleeves.

"Come and sit here." He indicated tall bar stools on the other side of the island worktop. Mai did as instructed, and then removed her shoes. Sighing with relief as her feet relaxed, she started to watch Naru cook.

He had retrieved some vegetables, a few bottles of sauce and some prawns. Naru cut vegetables and threw them in the wok, which sizzled impressively. His hands were almost a blur of skill with the knife and wok. He flipped the contents of the wok with ease and seemed to gauge the quantities without conscious thought.

Mai thought it was almost a performance. She had once been to a restaurant where the chefs were placed so that everyone could watch them work and appreciate their skill. She pondered whether he put this on just for her, or if he cooked like this every night.

"I used to be able to do this with PK." Naru said a few minutes later. "Gene and I terrified our mother by sending the knives to work without anyone holding them. Learning to do it with my own hands was significantly more difficult." Mai smiled, imagining the scene. "Although I wonder if that's because she didn't like the pair of us in the kitchen and playing with knives."

Naru's lips twitched at the edges. Mai speculated he was resisting a smile.

"Although the quality of my cooking improved once I started tasting it before serving. Gene liked to add random ingredients when I wasn't looking just because he could. I remember once he added banana ice cream to a stir fry we made without my noticing." This time Naru did smile. "Mother and Father tried their best to finish it and pretend they enjoyed it. Gene thought it was hilarious. I remember being annoyed because I had tried to make something good and he'd ruined it with his antics."

Mai wondered why he was telling her this, but did not stop him continuing as it seemed therapeutic. But Naru did not say anything else and served up two plates of teriyaki udon noodles.

They ate in silence and Naru seemed to retreat back into himself. Mai enjoyed her meal and told him so, but he replied curtly that he didn't expect anything else.

"You can wash up." He said, passing her his plate. "I am going to read."

Mai thought this was only fair, and when she came back from washing up the items used for dinner, she found Naru curled up in a big armchair. She hadn't noticed him go and change, for he was now wearing a black t-shirt and lounge pants. Deciding to go and put her own pyjamas on, she went to the guest room and closed the door behind her.

She smiled again at the thought of the story Naru had told her. She could believe that Gene had done such things when they were younger, and was saddened at the pain his loss caused Naru. She missed Gene too; he had not come to visit her in her dreams since Naru left for England all those years ago. Mai had guessed that it was because his body had been found, and put to rest. That he had 'gone on'.

Foolishly, Mai had hoped that when Naru returned and restarted SPR, that Gene would return, but he hadn't. She was plagued by the dreams on each case and had attempted to ascertain their meaning without Gene's guidance.

Once changed, Mai grabbed a book of her own to go and read on the sofa. Naru's eyes flicked up as she returned to the room, but darted straight back down to his book. He had put on some music; it was soft and classical sounding. Perfect for reading, Mai thought.

Her own book was an English novel, she was reading it for her evening English class. Although she hadn't gone to university, mainly due to funding issues, she continued her education in night classes where possible. English, once upon a time her worst subject, was currently her favourite. It was almost as if something had clicked in her head, and now the language was no longer the daunting task it had previously been, but a rewarding challenge.

After half an hour of quiet reading, Naru looked up again, noticed what she was reading and frowned.

"Since when was your level of English good enough to read Pride and Prejudice?" He asked, disbelievingly.

"Actually I am top of my class for English." Mai retorted indignantly. It was true, on their last piece of work she had received full marks, a feat that no one else had achieved.

"What class?" He scoffed. "You work full time."

"Haven't you heard of an evening class?" Mai matched his superior tone. Naru hid it well, but he was shocked – and pleased – that she had done something so proactive towards her education.

"Well I'm glad you decided to do something to improve your painfully limited knowledge."

Mai ignored him and returned to her book. Not that she would admit it, but she was struggling a little on the syntax of the old English style.

"Why English? I thought you preferred history." Naru asked, after a few minutes of silence.

"Because history I can learn from any book, English is a useful skill that is better mastered with the aid of a fluent speaker, i.e. a teacher." Mai said. But this was only partly true, a small part of her wanted to improve her English in order to go to England and find Naru. To explain that she never loved Gene romantically. To explain that she had never stopped loving Naru.

Even though he had been away for years, and Mai had been propositioned by a few other men, she could never get past the first date. She knew they had all be kind gentlemen and more than worthy of her attention. But they were not Naru. Even though the majority of the time, he was arrogant, narcissistic and almost cruel to her on occasions, he was also kind, in his own way, and had saved her many times on cases. She had missed his teasing, his detailed explanations of supernatural phenomena and the rare genuine smiles he gave.

For fear of her thoughts appearing on her face, she returned to her book.

"So why have you never asked to practice with me?" Naru asked, sounding almost offended.

"As if you would spare time out of your busy schedule for helping me. You would only get frustrated and insult me."

"_I wouldn't insult you._" Naru replied in English.

"_Yes, you would and do not think that will trip me up._" Mai replied calmly, pleased in the knowledge she had got it right.

"_Why would I insult you for trying to become less stupid?_"

"_Because you always did whenever I asked questions before._"

Naru did not reply. Mai knew she had him stumped, as everything she had just said was true.

"I am going to work out." Naru stood up suddenly, his tongue returning to Japanese. "If you ever want help with English, you can ask me." Mai looked up, surprised. Naru worked out? Somehow she just couldn't imagine him pumping weights at the gym, or going for a jog. In fact, he had started after Gene had died, as he had found he couldn't use his PK to help him lift heavier items.

Naru had left the room for one of the side rooms, he left the door ajar. Mai was very tempted to go and watch him, but felt like that would be overstepping her boundaries as his guest. However, 20 minutes later, Mai had thought up a good excuse to take a peak. Holding her book open at her current page, she tiptoed over to the room Naru had disappeared into.

Opening the door she said, "Naru?" It was reasonable sized room, a desk on one side with several bookshelves adorning the walls and on the other side, a workout mat and a few weights.

"Yes Mai?" Naru said, he had paused mid press-up, looking up at her. There was a light sheen of sweat coming off of his naked torso. Mai found herself ogling, then backed out of the room as quickly as she could.

"I'm sorry I was just hoping you could translate a few words for me." Mai mumbled blushing, Naru had been topless. "I will just mark it and look it up when I get home. Sorry for disturbing you."

"Mai, come back here. What are you having an issue with?" He asked, continuing his press-ups as if there was no interruption.

"_Profligacy_." Mai read out from the doorway, keeping her eyes focused on her book.

"Profligacy: extravagance, excess, squandering, wasting. Is that enough?" He sounded slightly out of breath.

"Yes, sorry." Mai scurried out of the room and back to the sofa. Naru had been topless. Although she hadn't got a good look at Naru's torso, the mere thought was enough to get her heart racing.

Five minutes later, she realised she had been staring at her book without taking any more of it in. It was not late enough for bed yet, so she got up to inspect the small collections of DVDs. Nothing really took her fancy, so she picked up the remote and turned on the small flat screen TV, after turning the music off. Mai was surprised that Naru even had a TV, it somehow just didn't fit him. She cheerfully flicked through the channels, looking for something she knew Naru wouldn't want turned off.

Before she found anything, Naru came out of the room he'd been in. Mai looked up to see he was still topless. His thin body was not overly muscled, but very well defined. He smirked at the look on her face.

"Like what you see?" Mai blushed again. Of course she liked what she saw.

"I've seen better." She said, trying to sound confident about this statement.

"Oh really?" Naru moved closer to her.

"Shouldn't you go and shower?" Mai said, turning away from him. "You'll never get a girl smelling like that."

"Maybe I don't want a girl." He said from just behind her. She looked around but Naru had gone into the third room, presumably to shower. He came out five minutes later; Mai was staring into space, not really watching the TV show.

"Maybe I want a woman." Naru's voice said behind her.

"What?" Mai said, it took her a moment to realise what he had meant. She looked round to see he was still topless, wearing nothing but a black towel around his waist. She could feel the blood rushing to her face again.

"Even your towel is black?" Mai asked disbelievingly, trying not to think about what was underneath it. Naru replied by raising an eyebrow at her. He walked around the sofa and sat down beside her.

"I want to talk to you about something." He said, for the first time Mai had met him, he sounded unsure of himself.

"Go on." Mai said, bookmarking her page and placing her book down.

"I meant what I said before." His face was deadly serious.

"When?" Mai asked, confused.

"That I don't want a girl, I want a woman."

"Okay?" Mai still didn't quite see where he was going with this, and why he had to do it in his towel at any rate. Naru took a deep breath. Mai giggled seeing him so Naru-ish. "What happened to your arrogance Naru?" She asked.

"No point being arrogant about something I'm not sure will even happen." He said, reasonably.

"Well what is it then? You want me to set you up?" Mai guessed.

Naru didn't respond with words, but with actions. He leant forward and kissed her gently on the lips.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Mai froze. Naru had kissed her! This really wasn't where she saw this conversation going, but his actions had changed everything. Naru's face was blank before her, waiting.

They sat there in silence staring at each other for a whole minute.

"I want you Mai." He said in a low voice, then turned his head away and added: "I'll pretend to be Gene if you want." Mai could see the pain and desperation in his eyes, that he would stoop to pretending to be his older and more likeable brother.

"Why would you do that?" Mai asked, if it hadn't been so serious, she would have laughed. "Naru, you were the one who decided I loved him. And I did, but never in that way."

Naru looked back around at her, his eyes full of hope.

"Gene was right; you really are an idiot scientist. I love you, not him."

Naru's face underwent a series of changes, first incredulous, then happy, then the arrogant smirk Mai knew all too well was back. He leant forwards again and kissed her again, more passionately this time.

Mai surrendered herself to the feeling and kissed him back. This had to be a dream, a wonderful dream. When they broke apart, Naru led Mai by the hand to her bedroom and pushed her towards the bed, on which she sat awkwardly.

Naru indicated she should move on to the bed further, so she shuffled back. Then he climbed on the bed and straddled Mai, still in his towel. Naru kissed Mai again, mentally noting that this seemed to be a good way of keeping his assistant quiet. He tried hard not to think about how he should not be doing this with his assistant. But it wasn't his assistant, it was Mai and this would possibly be the last chance he had. Slowly he moved his kisses to her neck, starting just under her ear and heard her moan, which sent a shudder down his own spine.

Still caressing her with his lips, his hands started to work on removing her clothes. Once he had undone all the buttons on her nightshirt, he felt Mai freeze up as he tried to remove her from it. She wasn't wearing anything underneath and seemed to be self-conscious about that fact.

Naru sat up and looked at her, Mai had moved her arms to cover her chest.

"What's wrong?" He asked, trying not to look too worried.

"I'm not pretty enough for you." Mai mumbled. She wasn't making eye contact and a dull red flush was creeping up her cheeks.

Naru sighed; he pulled the towel from around his waist and threw it on the floor. He took Mai's hand in his own and placed it on his erect manhood.

"That is there because of you, idiot. Now stop saying you aren't pretty enough. You are perfect." Mai thought he sounded almost insulted that he would settle for anything else.

Slowly, Mai removed her night shirt, noticing how soft the sheets were on her back. Naru threw the shirt on the floor with the towel and then returned to kissing her. He was trailing his kisses down her neck just to hear her moan again, he'd found a sensitive spot 2 inches below her ear. His hands were gently caressing her breasts.

Mai, on the other hand, had no idea what she should be doing. She wanted him to enjoy this too, but he kept distracting her with his kisses. How was she supposed to think of something to do when he wouldn't let her think straight? His mouth had reached her nipples and he was playing with them with his tongue. Whoever knew that could feel so nice?

Mai felt Naru's hands removing her pyjama bottoms and her underwear with ease. Then he guided her hands back to his manhood and wrapped them around it. Silently thanking Naru for his guidance, she begun to play with it for a few minutes, trying to find a rhythm, but was continually preoccupied by what Naru was doing. Then he was wrenched from her grip as Naru's kisses went lower down her belly. He pushed her legs apart and Mai gave no resistance. She had read about things like this, and was trying not to ruin her chance to try them. Naru's tongue was dancing over her, but she couldn't feel its individual movement, just the beautifully warm feeling it gave her. She closed her eyes and moaned again, clutching the sheets on either side of her body trying hard not to squirm. Where had he learnt this?

But suddenly, the feeling stopped, and faded away. Mai opened her eyes and relaxed her grip on the sheets. The nervous look had returned to Naru's face.

"What's wrong?" She asked, annoyed that he had stopped.

"Are you sure about this?" He asked tentatively. "Do you want to…?" He couldn't seem to put the idea into words.

"Yes Naru." Mai met his eyes and smiled. This was a very good dream. She pulled him closer and kissed him. "Go on." She said, trying to sound seductive.

As she felt him enter her, she couldn't help but gasp. Mai tried not to focus how weird and uncomfortable it felt, having him inside her. Instinctively, she had grabbed hold of him, pulling the warmth of his body closer to her. When Naru started to move gradually, the weirdness began to subside to a better feeling. Naru wanted to kiss her again, but he didn't want to stop hearing the mumbling sounds of enjoyment escaping Mai's lips. He wondered briefly if she was trying to be quiet.

Mai was oblivious to Naru's thoughts, her eyes were closed and her nails were digging into Naru's back, holding him in a rhythm that she never wanted to end. She wanted to tell him how good it felt, but no words seemed good enough. An intense feeling was growing inside her and she wasn't sure how long it could continue before exploding.

"I think I'm going to…" She started to mumble. But Naru had sped up. He too could barely contain the sensation and joy of having Mai. She was holding tighter to him, her breathing getting faster and shallower, feeling the pleasure grow and grow until –

"Oh!" She tried desperately not to scream, her body was arching beneath him and she felt him spasm. He was grunting in a satisfied manner as he climaxed inside her. Mai held onto Naru as he relaxed, then let go as he climbed off and fell down beside her. They lay in silence for a few minutes, both breathing heavily. Mai wanted to laugh, she had just done it with her boss.

"Naru?" A thought came to Mai.

"Hmm?"

"Was that your first time?" Mai asked, not looking at him.

"Of course it was." He said, in his 'stop being stupid' voice. He paused. "Was it yours?"

"Yes." Mai said. Naru pulled her closer to him and she rested her head on his shoulder. He kissed her forehead gently.

"We should go to sleep." Naru stated after a few minutes. He got up and passed Mai her night clothes, before leaving the room. Sitting up, Mai looked down at the sheets. There was a stain where they had been lying and Mai was suddenly very aware of the sticky fluids on her legs and crotch. Quickly, she got off the bed and ran into the adjoining bathroom. Grabbing the toilet paper, she wiped herself down and then took some more paper back to try and wipe the sheets. It didn't make much difference, so Mai got dressed and then tried again, but to no avail.

"Just leave it." Naru had reappeared in the doorway in the black lounge pants he had been wearing earlier. He turned off the light and got into bed. Mai scrambled in the other side.

"I'm sorry about the sheets." She said into the silence.

"I can get new ones." Naru said. "It was worth a set of sheets." He turned over to lay with his back to her. Mai continued to lie on her back, staring at the ceiling.

"Are we together now?" Mai asked a while later, but she got no answer. Turning over she propped herself up and saw that Naru was asleep, his body rising and falling slowly. A single tear leaked from her eye. She blinked away the leak and tried not to think about the mush of emotions fighting in her heart. She didn't regret what had happened, it had been wonderful. But she wished that she knew better what the whole thing meant for them.

With an uneasy heart, slowly, she fell asleep.

When Mai woke, Naru was no longer beside her. She got up and headed towards the bathroom. Her body felt achy, but the hot water from the shower helped. Once dressed, she packed her things up and brought her bags out to the living room. Naru was eating cereal from a bowl. He didn't look up as Mai came in.

"Help yourself." He muttered between mouthfuls.

"Are you okay?" Mai asked tentatively, not moving any closer.

"I'm fine." He looked up, face blank.

"Are we together now?" Mai asked nervously, repeating her question from the previous night. There was no reply. "Naru?"

"I don't want to answer that." Naru finished his breakfast and dumped the bowl in the sink. "Are you eating or not?" He asked.

"No." Mai said, holding back tears. What did his answer mean?

"Then let's go."

They drove in silence. And when they arrived at the office, Naru retreated straight to his own office, without even asking for tea. Mai stared after him, unsure of what she had done wrong. She walked sluggishly to her own desk and sat down.

Lin arrived 20 minutes after Mai and Naru did. He looked surprised that Mai was in so early, but did not say anything. Naru's assistant wasn't sure what to do. She had checked her emails, and then tidied the communal area. It wasn't until almost 11o'clock that Naru opened his office door.

"Mai, tea." He said.

She jumped up and went to the kitchen. Once it was ready, she took the tea through on a tray and placed it on Naru's desk, but he wasn't sitting in his chair.

The door closed behind her and she spun on the spot to face Naru.

"I wanted to tell you myself." He said; his face blank. "I am returning to England."

"For how long?" Mai asked, trying hard to keep her own face empty of emotion. "Is SPR closing?"

"Six months. And no, Madoka-san and Lin will be leading the team."

Mai nodded and swallowed, feelings of anger and resentment rose up inside her.

"So what was last night then?" She asked.

"What do you mean?" He retorted. "It was what it was. I'm sure your education taught you about the birds and the bees."

"So I was whoring myself out for a place to sleep? And to think I thought you cared. You lied to me! You bastard!" Mai stepped forward and smiled through her tears, then slapped Naru as hard as she could. She had expected him to try and stop her, but he took the hit with no hint of shock on his beautifully blank facade. The blow rung in her ears but Mai didn't wait for him to say anything and left the office. She grabbed her coat and told Lin she was going to stock up on tea. She had to get out of there.

By the time she returned, arms laden with bags of tea and biscuits, Madoka was at the SPR office and talking to Naru.

"… I would advise you get the whole team together sometime soon to get everyone up to speed. Listen to Lin and Mai's advice on what cases to take. They should know by now whether or not it would be worth it." Naru sounded like he was listing things.

"Oliver, it'll be fine. I know what I am doing." Madoka reassured him.

"You have my number if you need it." He paused. "I should head off. Goodbye Madoka." Mai heard Naru leave his office, but did not look up from her book.

"Goodbye Lin."

"Safe flight and good luck." Lin replied.

Mai could feel Naru's eyes on her, but she did not look up from her desk, where she was pretending to read. There was a pause, then the front door closed. He was gone.

"Have you two had a fight?" Madoka asked from the doorway.

"I don't want to talk about it." Mai said. She knew she was being uncharacteristically down, but she'd had enough of the day and it wasn't even lunchtime.

"He'll be back soon enough!" Madoka said cheerfully, thinking this would help.

"I don't give a shit if he ever comes back again. Can I go home? Only I'm moving into my new apartment today and if we don't have a case…" Mai snapped. "Sorry." She said at the look on Madoka's face.

"Of course you can." Said Madoka softly. She watched as Mai gathered her things and left, then turned to Lin. "What happened between those two?"

"He only told her this morning I think." Lin replied. "Come on; let's look at these new case files."

"But surely she knows why? That it's for the best?" Madoka enquired.

"As if Naru would tell her the reason, what if it doesn't go right?" Lin explained. "If it doesn't work, he won't want her to know. He'll want to show off to her if it does work. He'd rather it was a surprise. Besides, there is a significant chance he won't come back, what he's trying is dangerous."

"He's an idiot." Madoka grabbed a case proposal and started to read.

"Yes I believe that's why she slapped him." Lin agreed.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

That weekend, the SPR regulars were all crammed into Mai's new flat. It was nicer than her old flat, mainly due to the lack of vermin. Although it was nothing in comparison with Naru's apartment.

Yasuhara was pouring drinks for everyone. Mai was plating up snacks and Monk was setting up the speakers. They were having a housewarming party for Mai. It was Madoka's idea, to try and cheer Mai up after Naru's sudden departure.

Finally, when everything was ready, they all raised their glasses and toasted.

"To Mai-san's new home!" Monk led the toast. He grinned at her. "This is a nice place you have here. Cosy, but you have a nice view." Mai smiled back. She didn't mention the rent was twice what she was previously paying and would stretch her limited budget. She didn't want to sour the evening with her financial worries.

"Tell us about your holiday!" Yasuhara requested, taking a seat on the sofa next to Masako and John.

Monk and Ayako told them all of their trip around Thailand and its temples. Mai wasn't really listening, she was thinking about Naru. Who cared about monkeys and statues after what he had done?

Not that she wanted to think of him, she wanted to forget him. But she was angry at herself for what had happened between them. She should have stopped it, questioned it or just something. Briefly, she considered telling Monk about it, but decided against it. Monk would go berserk and probably kill Naru for defiling her.

Laughing at that thought, she looked around her other companions. Masako was out of the question, she wouldn't believe Mai, nor give any helpful advice. Naru was still a sensitive subject between them, even after all these years. Lin and Madoka were too close to Naru to bother with. Ayako? Well maybe, she was a doctor after all. Would it count as patient-client confidentiality? She somewhat doubted it. Besides, Ayako would tell Monk and then Monk would kill Naru. John wouldn't be able to talk about sex, so that ruled him out. Which was a shame, she felt like John at least would be kind. That left only Yasuhara.

Her initial thought was that this would be a bad idea. But as she contemplated it further, it didn't sound so bad. Yasuhara could keep a secret and was intelligent too, so he could potentially provide good advice.

"Another drink Mai?" Ayako was now refilling the glasses. Mai hadn't enjoyed the first drink; it was some form of alcohol, wine possibly. However, the prospect of becoming so drunk that she couldn't remember her woes sounded wonderful. So she cheerfully accepted and drank it down in one.

Chatter had broken out amongst the group, apart from Madoka and Lin, who were quietly snogging in a corner. Masako was relaying an amusing story from the filming of her latest episode. Mai tried to listen, but just couldn't. She was already feeling a bit tipsy, so decided on another drink.

By the end of her fourth drink, Mai was drunk. Very drunk. Much to the amusement of the others, she was singing at the top of her voice to the music, only half a line behind the actual song.

"Yasuuuuuuuuuu!" Mai shouted suddenly at the end of the song with an urge to put her plan into action. No time like the present! "Yasuharaaaaaaaaa!" She fell to the floor giggling. "I need to tell you something!" She held her finger to her lips and made a shh-ing sound.

"Yes Mai?" Yasuhara looked amused. "What is it you want to tell me?" He had not drunk nearly as much as poor Mai, and was considerably more sober.

"It's a secret! Do you want to hear the secret?" Mai was trying to stand up. Yasuhara came to her rescue. He pulled her to her feet and supported her swaying body.

"I would love to."

"Come to my bedroom!" Mai whispered loudly. Everyone else was watching and laughing at the poor drunk girl.

"You touch her while you are in there and you'll have me to answer to!" Monk said threateningly.

"I am just going to put her to bed." Yasuhara said calmly. "Come on Mai."

Mai led the young man to her room and shut the door behind them. She slid down the door on the other side and stared at him.

"Do you want to hear the secret now?"

"Okay Mai, tell me your secret." Yasuhara said, as he looked for her pyjamas.

"On Tuesday I stayed at Naru's house. Shhhhhh!" She said in an exaggerated whisper.

"Is that your secret Mai?" Yasuhara passed her pyjamas and turned his back. "Get changed Mai, its bed time now."

"No that's not my secret. Do you know what we did?" He heard her struggling with her clothing, but didn't turn round. "Guess what Naru and I did?"

"What did you do?" Yasuhara asked; his interest now peaked. What had Big Boss and Mai done?

"No! You have to guess Yasuuuu!" Mai whined. She had managed to change. Slowly she climbed onto her bed.

"Did you have dinner?" He guessed.

"Yes we did! But that's not the secret. Did you know Naru has a six pack? And is really good at chopping vegetables." Yasuhara sat down beside Mai, who was trying to get under the duvet.

"How do you know he has a six pack?"

"He was working out without his top!" Mai giggled, then starting imitating press-ups while lying on her back.

"Is that the secret?" Yasuhara somewhat doubted it was.

"No! Do you want to know? Shall I tell you?" Mai sat up very quickly and stared intently at Yasuhara, who stared back.

"Go on then."

"Naru and I had sex!" Mai whispered, quietly this time. Yasuhara tried to conceal his shock.

"Is that why you've been upset?" He prompted.

"He fucked me and then left for England!" Mai said angrily, waving her arms in an exaggerated manner. "Who does that? I told him I love him and he just leaves me? Would you do that?" She glared angrily at him.

"No Mai, I wouldn't do that to you." Yasuhara sighed. "How about I sleep on your couch and we talk about this in the morning?" He suggested.

"Okay." Mai lay back down, her anger forgotten and Yasuhara turned her on her side.

"Sleep tight Mai, come and get me if you need me, okay?"

"Will do Yasu…" Mai sounded tired and sad.

Yasuhara left the room and closed the door behind him.

"I'm staying here overnight to make sure Mai is alright." He told the others, who all looked ready to leave.

"What was her secret?" Monk asked.

"Nothing serious, just that she misses Naru, hence why she has been upset." Yasuhara lied easily. The others nodded and left.

Yasuhara lay down on the sofa, and waited for sleep. He couldn't believe that Mai and Naru had done it. Well really he couldn't believe Naru had genitals, let alone some that worked.

The next morning, Yasuhara woke bright and early. He made himself a coffee and then started clearing up the mess from the party. There wasn't much to do, but he felt like a clean apartment might lessen Mai's troubles slightly.

Mai woke up a short time later and found Yasuhara in the kitchen; making breakfast.

"Tea?" He offered her.

"No. I am never drinking tea again." Mai scowled at the bright light.

"Coffee it is then." Yasuhara made her a cup and plated up her breakfast. "Eat that up, then we will talk." Mai wondered momentarily what he wanted to talk about. Then she remembered.

"I told you?" She asked, massaging her head.

"Yes, now eat."

Five minutes later, Mai joined Yasuhara on the sofa.

"So what happened?" He asked, as she took a sip of coffee and winced at the taste.

"We fucked. End of story." Mai scowled again.

"I don't believe that's the whole story."

"Fine. I was there as I had nowhere to stay that night. We ate, read our books, then he worked out. I was reading when he showered and then came back and kissed me. Told me he wanted me." She paused, remembering the scene. "He wasn't like Naru at all, he was nervous. He… He offered to pretend to be Gene for me. The idiot still thought I was in love with Gene." Mai sighed. "I haven't seen Gene since Naru originally left." She paused again. "So I told him that I didn't love Gene in that way, that I loved him." Mai held back a sob. "And he kissed me again. He was so happy."

She couldn't hold back the tears anymore. Yasuhara let her cry, providing a shoulder and a one sided hug. Finally, she reined it in.

"Then he led me to my bedroom and we…"

"You did the deed." Yasuhara finished for her. Mai nodded and sobbed again.

"Next morning he was all cold. I asked if we were together but he wouldn't answer. And then when we got to the office, he didn't ask for tea until 11o'clock. Then called me into his office and told me he was leaving. I slapped him." Mai stared into the distance. "I slapped my boss. Oh no, he's going to sack me…" She wailed.

"No he isn't, he deserved that. Besides, Madoka is in charge now and she knows nothing about it." Mai nodded.

"It was his first time." Mai said a little while later. "I was surprised, he knew what he was doing, but he said it was his first time."

Yasuhara didn't respond. He wasn't quite sure how he was supposed to respond to that.

"What should I do Yasu?" Mai asked, looking up at him. "I love him, but I hate him right now."

"I don't know Mai. He was a complete arse to you. He is not worth waiting six months for right now."

"You're advising me to move on? I tried that last time." Mai buried herself back in Yasuhara's chest.

"I know." Yasuhara thought for a moment. "Did you use protection Mai?"

Mai looked up, startled. She hadn't even thought about that.

"No…" Mai paused. "I'm due my period sometime next week, so it won't be hard to check."

"Okay, well make sure you do check. A baby would change this situation completely. You would have to tell Naru if you were pregnant."

"Why? He doesn't tell me anything."

"Just because he's an arse, doesn't mean you have to be too." Yasuhara said. "It would be his baby too."

Mai glared out the window.

"You won't tell anyone about this?" Mai asked some time later.

"Of course not." Yasuhara said without hesitation. "Just promise me you'll look after yourself." He checked the time on his watch. "How about you go and shower, then we'll head into town. We could get a few things for your new apartment. How about some cushions for this sofa?" He suggested. Mai nodded glumly and got up.

20 minutes later, they were heading out the door and walking towards the shops. Mai was grateful to Yasuhara for not sugar coating things for her. Together they found a home store, and started picking out cushions and a few other home trinkets. Mai liked the idea of having new things, a fresh start. Yasuhara was right, she should move on from Naru. She knew that was easier said than done, but she was going to try harder this time.

Later that afternoon, Yasuhara boarded the train he needed to return to university. He was sad to leave Mai, but promised to text or call her whenever needed. Mai returned home and put out her new things. A few brightly coloured cushions on the sofa. A small lucky cat figure for the side table and a few photo frames, which she planned to fill with pictures of her family; her real parents and her SPR family, a certain person not included.

To feel productive, she got out her laptop and started looking through her own photos, realising then how few she had. Disappointed, but no less determined, she wrote an email to everyone to send her any photos they had of the group. Satisfied with her own effort, she got ready for bed without eating anything.

The next morning, when she arrived at work, she had several emails. All of them had attachments of photos. Mai smiled as she looked through them all, ignoring any with a certain person. She selected her favourites and saved them to a folder to print later.

Madoka shouted through from Naru's office for her to call the gang together.

"Will do Madoka! Do we need overnight bags?"

"Yes, it looked like a simple case, but we'll probably spend a few days there."

Mai started calling everyone, glad of something to do.

By lunchtime, Monk, Ayako and John were there. Masako was unavailable, but Madoka reckoned they would be okay without her.

"Recovered from your hangover Mai-san?" Ayako teased.

"It wasn't actually that bad, and Yasu-san made me breakfast."

"That was nice of him." Monk said. "He didn't do anything else did he?" He added sternly.

"No, he was a perfect gentleman." Mai said. Unlike someone else, she thought privately.

"Right, this seems to be a straight forward haunting. Noises in the night, things moving in the house and food going rotten." Madoka listed. "I'm hoping we can go and find out why the spirit is doing this, so we can help it move on peacefully."

Everyone nodded, and as there were no questions they headed down to the van.

Three hours later, they pulled up outside a beautiful old house.

"Right, Lin and Monk bring in the equipment. Ayako, you and I will interview family members. Mai, some dream input would be great." Madoka said as they climbing out of the vehicles.

Mai grabbed some of the overnight bags and brought those in, leaving the heavier equipment to the men. She sat on the small sofa in the room they designated as a base and tried to sleep. It wasn't easy, the light was streaming in the window and she couldn't get the feeling of being watched from the back of her mind.

Looking round, she saw Naru behind her. No, wait, it couldn't be Naru. Had she fallen asleep already?

"Hello Mai. Long time no see!" The man grinned at her.

"Gene?" She asked. She must be sleeping. He opened his arms to her and she ran into them. "I am so glad to see you. Why haven't you moved on?" She frowned at him.

"I did, but you needed me back here, so I returned for a bit." Noticing her continued frown, he explained. "I can do that. The afterlife business is not strictly a one way thing." He paused. "I know about Noll."

"Don't talk to me about him."

"He's an idiot Mai. You know that, right? He does care about you."

"Cares so much that he just left me. Used me and left me." Mai wondered briefly if her real body would cry tears if she did in the dream world.

Gene didn't attempt to console her on this fact. He knew Noll loved Mai more than he would admit. Maybe he could try and reach him…

"Do you have anything relevant to the case?" Mai asked, in a business voice.

"Sort of, it's a woman who's not happy with men. She won't let me close enough to guide you into a recreation of events. But I'll keep trying."

"Not happy with men hmm? Maybe I won't need you then, I feel kinda that way myself."

"No Mai, you don't. Don't kid yourself that you hate Noll, because we both know it's a lie."

"Goodbye Gene." Mai sighed, not wanting this argument and she ran towards the fog behind them, knowing this would wake her up.

Oliver Davis lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling. He was thinking about the events of a week ago. He knew Mai was furious with him and was trying desperately not to care. He was going to be away from her for six months. It would have been cruel to string her along from another country.

But he also knew it had been cruel to sleep with her before leaving. His own heart panged at the thought of it. It was true that physically, it had felt wonderful and he very much wanted to do it again. But on an emotional level, a level he would refuse to admit existed to anyone, it had been nice to be that close with someone; sharing something so intimate. He hadn't had that since before Gene died.

Oliver had also been thinking about how Mai had wanted him, not Gene. He had been shocked at that. He had prepared himself to pretend, that's how bad he had wanted her. How badly he still wanted her. Mai loved him, not his dead brother. And he had stomped on her heart. Oliver wanted to go back to Japan, to explain he was an idiot and to comfort Mai, to hold her and never let go.

He was disgusted at his own sentiment. Sighing, he got up and dressed; he had a hard day of training ahead of him and wanted a good breakfast before they started. That was one advantage of being back in England; bacon and eggs tasted much better here.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Mai could see Naru laughing in front of her. Why were the lovers in her dreams always replaced with her and Naru? She couldn't stand it. She hated him.

"I am leaving you." He said cruelly. "I have better offers elsewhere."

"No!" Mai felt herself cry. "But you told me you loved me." Now she understood why it was Naru. The situation fit perfectly and Mai scowled internally.

"You foolish woman." He laughed again. Turning on his heel, she watched him leave. Then she began to run after him. But as she reached the path outside the house, she slipped on a wet patch of stone. Her body hit something and then she was falling.

Mai woke with a start.

"She's down the well. Her body is down the well. I think we should find it and bury it properly." Mai blurted out. "She wants to rest in peace, but no one will listen. She doesn't feel wanted."

"Thank you Mai, that's really helpful." Madoka said. "Monk, please go and inform the clients of our intent, we can perform jourei and create a proper burial."

Mai left the room, she hated the first person experience of death every time they were on a case, but every time they arrived at a new case, she wanted nothing more than to help. Once outside, she stayed away from where she knew the well was. The rest of the garden was beautiful. Spring flowers were in full bloom and the weather was getting brighter. The case had only taken two days, but Mai was still ready to go home.

The peace of the garden was disturbed by a loud buzzing. Mai pulled her phone out of her pocket and looked at who was calling. Kicking herself mentally for wishing it was Naru, she answered the call.

"Hello Yasuhara." She said, taking a seat on a garden bench.

"How's the case?" He asked enthusiastically.

"All sorted, they are finishing it up now." Mai replied.

"Have you… Um… Started your…" He sounded reluctant to say the word 'period'. Mai laughed, Yasuhara would normally be the one embarrassing everyone else with crude comments.

"Yes Yasu, it is all fine." She had started that morning. It had been very light, but definitely there.

"Good. We don't need that kind of stress in our lives."

Mai couldn't agree more. For a whole hour a few days ago, Mai wished that she was pregnant. Just so she had another reason to hate Naru. But the thought of bringing up a child alone or telling Naru changed her mind. She couldn't imagine him arriving in six months' time to find her carrying his child. Mai just wasn't sure how he would react. He'd probably blame her and call her stupid again.

A small part of her, a very small part, wanted to be pregnant so she could have her own family. A real family that couldn't leave. The idea that someone would depend on her and look up to her sounded wonderful.

"Mai? You still there?" Yasuhara's voice came down the phone.

"Yes sorry I was just thinking."

"It's okay. I should be going, let me know you have got home safely okay?"

"Sure, bye!" Mai hung up and headed back inside. A thought had just struck her. In the Urado case, Mai had appeared near Masako and had given the medium her lucky charm. Mai knew this was part of astral projecting and wondered if she practiced, whether she'd be able to visit Yasuhara at university, without actually leaving home.

Naru was sat cross-legged in the middle of a large spacious room, his eyes were closed. In front of him was a large square cushion. His new instructor, David, was sitting in the corner and watching him intently.

He had been trying to teach Naru a new technique for using his PK, a method that would mean he could use the full strength of his power without Gene. David had estimated it would take 6 months to master it, but Naru was determined to do it quicker. The faster he grasped the theory, the sooner he could return to Mai and try to patch things up.

But the new technique was not easy; it felt unnatural and alien to him. Naru opened his eyes suddenly and moved his arms slowly forward, holding his palms parallel to each other. Nothing happened. Naru swore loudly.

"_I am taking a break._"

Mai lay on her bed and closed her eyes. They had been home two days since the last case and she wanted to spend her Friday night practicing astral projection. She wasn't entirely sure of the best way to induce the phenomena.

"Maybe I should focus on what I want." Mai speculated out loud. So she focused her mind on Yasuhara, she liked the idea of visiting him at university. His cheerful face filled her mind's eye and she willed herself to be there with him. Alas, nothing happened. Thinking perhaps that she needed sustenance, Mai went and made herself a snack.

She was just about to return to her bedroom, when her phone started ringing loudly. The caller ID read MONK.

"Hello?" She answered the call.

"Mai-san, you have to help me out. Ayako is insisting on taking me shopping tomorrow and I can't face it alone!"

"So you want me to third wheel?" Mai laughed.

"No! I want you to come and rescue me when she starts trying to make me try on ridiculous things!"

Mai knew that they had only invited her to keep her from moping in her flat, but she was grateful for it all the same.

"I will buy you lunch and I was thinking we could all go to the cinema afterwards?" Monk added, trying to sell it to her. "We could invite everyone to the cinema and get dinner!"

"Alright Monk, I will come. Pick me up from mine around 11oclock?" She suggested.

"It's a date!" Monk hung up and Mai returned to her bedroom. She knew that it would be fun tomorrow and was glad she had something to look forward to for the next day.

Lying back down on her bed, Mai returned her focus to astral projection. But an hour of intense concentration later and she was getting nowhere. Dejected, she went to bed.

The next morning, Mai dressed and started vacuuming her apartment before Monk and Ayako turned up for the shopping trip. She had just finished when the doorbell rang. Mai grabbed her bag and met the couple in the hallway.

"Mai-san! How are you?" Ayako hugged Mai tightly.

"I'm fine!" Mai reassured Ayako and the trio made their way out of the block of flats and onto the street.

"Only John-san wanted to meet us later for the cinema. Lin and Madoka were 'busy'." Monk made little quotation marks with his fingers. "Masako-san decided she had other places to be."

"Masako would." Mai said curtly. Ayako laughed. "What?"

"I really would have thought you two had gotten over Naru by now." Ayako said.

"Yeah." Mai said lamely. She had felt her stomach drop at the sound of Naru's name.

"He'll be back soon Mai!" Monk said cheerfully, squeezing her in a one armed hug.

"So what exactly are we shopping for?" Mai asked. They had walked towards the shopping centre in the busy Saturday crowds.

"Monk needs a suit." Ayako said immediately, registering Mai's reluctance to talk about Naru. "His band is negotiating a new record deal and their manager has told the band members to smarten up."

Mai laughed, the thought of Monk in a suit just didn't seem right. Monk sighed behind the two women.

"I thought about turning up in my birthday suit." He added. Mai blushed at the thought.

"And embarrass yourself with that wrinkly old body?" Ayako retorted, laughing.

"Coming from you? You old hag."

The couple continued to insult each other all the way into the first suit shop they found. Mai started to look around, trying to find a colour that suited Monk.

"I want something cool." Monk said, ignoring the many grey and black suits. "I want something bright."

"You will not get taken seriously in a brightly coloured suit." Ayako said flatly.

"She's right you know Monk." Mai agreed. "Maybe go for a plain suit and jazz it up with some neat cufflinks and ties?"

It took the two women half an hour to convince Monk that this was a good idea. Finally, he started trying on light grey suits.

"I refuse to look like I am in mourning." Monk said. He'd picked up 3 different grey suits and was perusing for a fourth.

"Just go and try those on!" Ayako complained. Mai had taken a seat just outside the changing room. Monk grabbed a final suit and headed to the first cubicle.

"You have to show us them all." Mai called cheerfully through.

Dutifully, Monk came out and paraded around in each suit. Surprisingly, he looked very good in a suit. They picked the lightest of the grey suits and matched it with a pale blue tie and cufflinks with little guitars on them. The shop owner offered to tailor the suit over lunch, by fixing the leg length to a better length and likewise for the arms on the jacket. Monk happily accepted and then marched the woman to a local sushi restaurant for lunch.

Mai hadn't had sushi in a long time and happily started picking out various types of maki. Ayako suggested they selected a few big plates and shared; Monk and Mai agreed readily. Before long they were stuffing their faces with sushi and laughing at Monk's impression of his manager. At the end of the meal, there were several pieces left, so Monk had a waiter box them up and he pressed them into Mai's hands, insisting she take them for her dinner.

They picked up Monk's finished suit on the way to the cinema, and met John there.

"Mai-san!" He shouted cheerfully, Mai hugged him briefly. "So what are we seeing?"

"Well the old lady wants to see some stupid rom-com."

"Oh please, not a rom-com." Mai begged. She couldn't stand the idea right now. Eventually they settled on an action film.

Two hours later, John offered to walk Mai home, so they bid farewell to Monk and Ayako and set off together.

"Are you okay Mai-san?" John asked.

"Of course I am!" Mai said cheerfully, she had enjoyed the film and was looking forward to the rest of her sushi.

"Yasuhara told us that you were just missing Naru last week at your party, but I don't think that was the case." He prompted.

"Really? You want to talk about Naru?" Mai stopped walking and turned to face John.

"I want to make sure you are okay." John reassured her.

"I am fine. I do not want to talk about Naru." Mai said shortly. She started walking again.

"I'm sorry Mai, I didn't mean to upset you." John looked worried. "I just wanted to help."

"I know you do John-san, but it's a sensitive issue and I'm too tired to try right now."

"Well if you ever do want to talk, you can talk to me confidentially, okay?"

"Thank you Father John." Mai laughed, wondering what it'd be like to go to confession. They were nearing her apartment now.

"Are you free next weekend?" John asked.

"I think so, unless we get a case." Mai replied. "Why?"

"We are doing an Easter Egg hunt for the children at the church. I was hoping you'd come and help us set up. We could do with some extra hands."

"Of course I will."

They departed at the bottom of Mai's apartment block and she headed up, glad to be home. She flopped on the sofa and pulled out the remaining sushi from her bag. As she ate she thought about her friends, and how glad she was to have them all.

It wasn't until she finished eating that she had a thought. A thought that made her want to perfect her astral projecting ability even more. How had Gene known about what had happened between her and Naru? Had he been watching?

A new sense of determination overcame her and she almost ran to her bed. Mai lay on her bed and closed her eyes, willing herself to see Gene.

"Hello Mai." A voice said, Mai looked up and Gene was standing in a ghostly imitation of her room.

"How did you know?" She asked, feeling the anger bubbling inside of her. "How did you know what happened between Naru and me?"

Gene looked awkward.

"Did you watch?" Mai tried not to yell at him.

"It was an accident!" Gene burst out. "I was just checking up on you and Noll! I do that occasionally okay? How was I do know you'd both be naked in his bed?!"

"So did you leave straight away?" Mai asked indignantly.

Gene paused before answering, but Mai interjected.

"You stayed?! You pervert! You disgusting filthy pervert!"

"I left as soon as I could but these things take time!"

"Oh sure they do!" Mai was furious. "Get out. No. I will leave. Don't come back." Mai ran towards the fog, away from him.

She sat up with a start and grabbed her phone. She had to talk to Yasuhara. He picked up on the third ring.

"Mai? What's wrong?" Yasuhara's voice came urgently thought the earpiece.

But Mai couldn't keep it in and burst into tears. It took Yasuhara almost ten minutes to calm her down enough to understand what she was saying. She told him of Gene's perverted behaviour and about how everyone wouldn't shut up about Naru.

"How can I move on when everyone won't shut up about him?" She finished lamely.

"The talk will die down soon, Mai. But it won't stop. You do work for the man." Yasuhara said. "That is something you will just have to live with I'm afraid. Unless you want to quit your job."

"And then what would I do?!" Mai wailed.

"I don't know, get another job?" He suggested. "And as for Gene, don't you think it would have been awkward for him to see you both, well you know."

"What do I do Yasu?" Mai asked dejectedly. She knew he was right about Gene, but she couldn't help be annoyed with the twin.

"You carry on Mai. I can ask the others not to talk about him if you want?"

"And that won't make them suspicious at all. No it'll be fine." Mai took a deep breath. "Thank you Yasuhara, are you alright?"

"Yes I'm fine, just worried about you." He said kindly.

"How's university?" Mai asked, trying to inject something like enthusiasm into her voice.

"Hard work, but interesting! You'll have to come and visit sometime."

"I'd like that. Well I'll let you get back. Talk soon Yasuhara!" Mai hung up, deciding it was time for an early bed.

On Monday morning, Mai entered the SPR office and headed straight for Madoka's office.

"Madoka-san?

"Yes Mai?" Madoka looked up from a letter she was reading.

"I want to train my astral projection. Train it properly, so I can do it at will and to wherever I want. Will you help me?" Mai asked cheerfully. She couldn't forget Naru, but she could distract herself with other things and this is something she really wanted.

"Of course, though I feel like Lin might be better suited to teaching you." Madoka replied, happy to see Mai smiling. "Lin! Lin, come here!"

"Yes?" Lin said, appearing in the doorway.

"I need you to help Mai master her astral projection." Madoka said. "We don't have a case currently and I feel this would be a better use of your time." Lin only nodded.

And so they began, for the next week Mai spent her time at the office lying on a sofa and willing herself to leave her own body. It was only on Friday afternoon that she finally managed it.

Briefly, she appeared next to her own body, shrieked in surprise and woke herself back up.

"Very good." Lin said, smiling. "It's a start."

"Did she manage it?" Madoka called through from her office.

"Sort of!" Mai threw herself into Lin's arms and hugged him. "Oh thank you Lin!"

Lin started to peal the excited girl off of him, but she was already running towards Madoka and hugging her too.

"We'll leave it there for today I think." Lin said, getting to his feet and returning to his desk.

"But we can continue next week right?" Mai asked desperately. When Lin nodded, she grinned back. "I'll go and make some tea."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The next Sunday, Mai found herself hiding small foil wrapped chocolate eggs around the garden of the church. She was trying desperately not to place them in spots too hard to see for the younger children. When she finished she returned to the church entrance to see John holding two fluffy lumps of fabric.

"The Father suggested we wore these." He held out the two costumes, which turned out to be onesies; a rabbit and a chicken.

"Well I am not being a chicken." Mai took the rabbit suit and started to put it on. "How do I look?" She asked, once dressed.

"Adorable. How do I look?" John asked. Mai looked up and laughed. The chicken onesie was not going to make anyone look good, and poor John was no exception.

"The children will love it." Together they headed back into the church, where the Father was telling the children the Easter story. However, when the children spotted John and Mai, they shrieked in delight and ran over to them. The pair handed out small baskets and told the children they had to find ten small eggs each, and that if they found ten, they would receive a large egg.

Mai watched the children run off in excitement.

"Come on John, we should supervise." Mai said, and then started hopping towards the door.

"What are you doing?" John laughed good-naturedly.

"I'm being a bunny rabbit of course. Get clucking!" John laughed again and started towards the door, waving his arms like a chicken.

Outside the children were running around search every nook and cranny. Mai was reminded of the case they once covered here, when they had got the children to search for her when she was possessed.

A sudden cry caused Mai to jump, she spun on the spot and saw a crying child not far from her. John started towards the young boy, but Mai stopped him.

"It's okay, I'll go." She hurried over and sat down next to the whimpering boy, who was holding his knee. "What's wrong?" She asked gently.

The boy didn't speak but pointed to his knee between sobs. Mai looked and saw a light graze ingrained with small stones and dirt.

"Did you fall over?" She asked. He nodded. She brushed off the dirt with her fingers as lightly as she could. "Shall we go and give this a wash?" The small boy's crying subsided a little as she picked up him and carried him back towards the church. "We'll wash off the dirt and then it'll be okay."

This time the boy nodded at her and then nuzzled his head to her neck. When in the kitchen, she sat the boy on the table and found a cloth, which she dampened and then started dabbing at the boy's knee. He started crying again.

"I'm sorry," She said. "But we have to get the dirt out." Mai looked up at the boy's face. He was wiping the tears from his dark blue eyes. Eyes that reminded Mai of someone else.

"There, see! It's all gone now." Mai lent down and kissed the boy's knee. "All better." He stuck his arms out and Mai picked him up again. "Let's go back outside."

She took the boy and set him down again once back in the garden. John looked around and headed over.

"Is he okay?"

"Yeah, just a grazed knee." Mai watched the boy run off to collect more eggs. She felt a pang watching him leave. She wanted nothing more than to hug all the children staying here. She knew many of them hadn't seen their own parents for a long time and a few others were orphans. And while she knew they were cared for, she couldn't help but feel that she could provide a little more love in their young lives.

After all the children had collected their eggs, John and Mai ushered them all back inside for lunch. While eating, the young boy who had hurt his knee came over and sat next to Mai. When she'd finished, he crawled into her lap and finished his lunch there. Mai didn't mind one bit and once he'd taken his last bite, she started a tickle fight with him. She loved the sound of his laughter and didn't want to stop playing. A few of the other children came over to join in the frivolity. Before long, Mai had several young bodies trying to pin her down and tickle her; the boy leading the pack.

John eventually rescued her and the children started trying to attack him. But the Father put a stop to it all and asked the children to take their lunch things to the kitchen.

"Thank you for helping today Mai." John said, as Mai handed back the onesie.

"No, thank you! I had so much fun." She grinned up at him. "See you soon!"

Two weeks later, Mai was lying on a sofa in the base. She was trying to astral project again, with the hope of seeing something relevant to the case.

The house they were in had experienced several pieces of furniture moving and tapping noises. The owner, Shogo Himura, was fed up of what was going on and called in SPR.

Mai suspected that whatever it was, it was not supernatural. She hadn't got so much of a whiff of spirit activity and 3 days after arriving, she still hadn't had one of her dreams.

Madoka had taken the case because they had been so sparse on things to do. Mai knew Naru would never have bothered with it. She was finding it easier to ignore the pain that ran through her every time she heard his name or thought about him.

"I give up. Madoka I really don't think this case is anything to do with a spirit." Mai said. "There are no teenagers here, so I doubt its poltergeist activity. I think it might be something wrong with the foundations."

"What do you mean?"

"Well in my first ever case, Naru suspected there was something wrong with the foundations of the building, and as it collapsed inch by inch into the soil, it caused things to move." Madoka listened closely.

"I think you may be right. None of the cameras have picked up any weird behaviour. There has been no temperature drops in the affected rooms." Madoka said. "We should call in a surveyor. To check the building out."

Lin offered to do the honours, so Mai went and made tea for the three of them. Monk, Ayako, Masako and John had not joined them, as Madoka hadn't seen this as a big case. She was glad of this decision, as she couldn't help but feel like they had wasted everyone's time.

"Himura-san, we are calling in a surveyor as we hold no belief this is supernatural." Madoka told the house owner, a little while later.

"But all the things moving? And the noises?"

"Could be due to structural damage." Madoka replied reasonably.

"Well its best to check." He agreed, looking tired. "I just want this fixed."

Hours later, the surveyor confirmed Mai's initial thoughts. The foundations were sinking, and he declared the property unsafe. Himura was shocked, but the surveyor promised to put him in touch with a builder who might be able to resolve the issue.

Mai helped carry the equipment back into the van and they were soon on the road home. Madoka had apologised several times about pulling them into such a useless case. Although Himura had promised to pay them for their time, she still felt like she'd let the team down.

"Why don't I make you both dinner? To make up for it?" She gabbled. Lin only nodded, as they were staying together it didn't matter to him who cooked that evening. Mai agreed happily, mainly at the allure of free food. She hadn't said anything to anyone about it, but her finances were getting very tight. Her new flat, nice as it was, was costing her a lot more than she'd originally though it would. And as a result, she had very little money left for food or transport. She'd taken to walking to the SPR office, which meant getting up a lot earlier. And her diet had become very restricted due to lack of funds for a wider variety.

Mai had looked at finding a cheaper flat, or a housemate, but both searches had come up empty. She knew she would have to ask Madoka for a pay rise, but was apprehensive of asking.

Lin drove the van straight to the apartment block. It wasn't until they arrived there that Mai remembered he lived in the same building as Naru. Ignoring this fact the best she could, Mai followed the couple up to their flat.

Madoka was chatting happily about her plans for Ayako's birthday, which was in a few weeks' time, as she started to cook. Lin had sat on the sofa and was vaguely listening to her. Mai looked around; the flat had the same layout as Naru's flat, but was much more colourful and not quite as clean. She suspected this was Madoka's influence, but didn't complain. She liked the homely feel and so settled into a chair.

"And I know Monk-san thinks she'd rather go to a foreign restaurant, I think he wants to try that new curry place, but I know better. Ayako would prefer that fancy sushi place, what was it called Lin?"

"Akasaka." Lin had his eyes closed and his feet up, resting after the long drive.

"Yes that was it. I think I will book ahead for it."

"Good idea." Lin agreed, though he honestly looked too tired to care.

"We might even be able to use company funds for the meal. What should we get her do you think?" Madoka asked Mai.

"Maybe some botox for her wrinkles." Mai laughed.

"Oh Mai-san you are cruel!" Madoka chided. "You know she is younger than me!"

"Yes, but you don't get quite so upset about things like that!"

"Because she's not as wrinkly as Ayako-san." Lin said from the sofa. Mai laughed again, Madoka smiled at her boyfriend and continued cooking.

"Mai-san, could you just set the table for us?" Madoka asked. "Everything is in that side cupboard." Mai obliged happily and a few minutes later, they were all eating a steaming pile of noodles each.

After the meal, Mai washed up and Madoka offered to drive Mai home, which she accepted gratefully, leaving Lin resting on the sofa. While in the car, Mai decided to broach the subject of a pay rise.

"Madoka-san, you know how you are the boss right now?" Mai asked.

"Yes."

"What do I have to do to request a pay rise? Not a big one!" She hastened to add. "Just a bit more each week."

"Are you that tight on money?" Madoka asked, concerned.

"Only since I had to move. My old flat was about half the rent, due to sharing the property with rats."

"I will look into it for you." Madoka assured her. "But I can't promise anything, I will have to check with Naru of course."

Mai thanked her, and they sat the remainder of the car journey in silence. Madoka wanted to ask about what had happened between them, but didn't as Mai had proved too touchy on the subject and she didn't want to upset her further.

Later that night, Mai found herself back in the ghostly imitation of her own apartment. She hadn't meant to astral project and sincerely hoped she'd been sitting down when it happened.

Gene was standing in front of her, looking very morose.

"Look, I am sorry Mai. I really didn't want to walk in on what I saw. I turned my back as soon as I realised what was going on."

"I know."

"I mean do you really think I wanted to see my brother doing that?"

"I know." Mai repeated, knowing full well Gene wasn't really listening.

"I mean I know we look the same, but that's still his body and it's still weird okay? I didn't want to see anything!"

"Gene! I know! It's okay." Mai raised her voice. Gene smiled at her for a moment, before looking sad again. "What's wrong?"

"Can I ask you to do something for me? And you won't freak out and you'll just trust me?"

"As long as it doesn't involve talking to Naru, I will consider it." Mai folded her arms across her chest, she didn't like the way he was looking at her.

"You missed your period this month." Gene started. Mai blushed furiously.

"No I haven't. It's just a few days late. And how would you know that?" Mai asked angrily. "Do you watch me put tampons in too?"

"Mai! Please! Just buy a pregnancy test!" Gene started to blush now.

"But I had a period last month. I am not pregnant."

"That can happen you know. Bleeding after impregnation, it's to do with the egg burying in the lining or something."

"I don't care. I am not pregnant." Mai stated stubbornly.

"Mai please!" Gene pleaded. "Please just check, you can say 'I told you so' all you like if I am wrong but…"

"But what?" Mai said angrily.

"I can sense it." He muttered.

"What?"

"I think I can sense the new life." He looked unsure.

"This is one fucked up practical joke Gene. I am not in the mood." Mai stalked towards the fog, wishing for once she could see Gene and leave happy.

Naru was just about to finish his lunch when his phone rang. It was Madoka.

"Hello."

"Oliver I need to talk to you about salaries, do you have a minute." Madoka had driven back to Lin's flat and parked her car. But had decided to call Oliver before returning upstairs.

"Yes. What's wrong with the current rates of pay?" Naru ran through the figures in his head.

"Mai needs a pay rise. I know she doesn't get paid as much as you and Lin, but she's struggling to make ends meet. Her new apartment is in a higher rent bracket and–"

"Double her pay." Naru said plainly.

"What?" Madoka was shocked. That would put Mai at the same rate of pay as Lin.

"You heard me. Double her pay." Naru knew the company could afford it and easing Mai's financial worries was the least he could do for her, all things considering.

"Oliver she only wants a small rise." Madoka wasn't sure why she was arguing. Perhaps because she wasn't sure how'd she'd explain this to Mai.

"I said double it!" Naru almost shouted down the phone. "Why are you disagreeing with me? She needs the money and the company doesn't."

"Okay Oliver! Calm down." Madoka said. "How is your training?"

"It's fine. I have to go." He hung up. His mother was staring at him from the doorway.

"_Is everything okay?_" She asked.

"_Of course._" Naru replied. "_I should get back to practising._"

On the first Saturday of June, they celebrated Ayako's birthday at her favourite restaurant. But despite the celebrations, Madoka couldn't help but talk about the next case.

"I received the call this morning. Kenta Satou lives in a rural area and his wife, Yumi, and daughter Noriko have both gone missing."

"Why isn't it a case for the police then?" Mai asked.

"Because there is no physical evidence, and as he lives next to a forest which is well known to be haunted, he thinks evil spirits have taken his family."

"The police gave up on the case, and we are his only hope." Lin said. "I think he hopes we'll find their bodies so he can put them to rest."

"Seriously, can we not talk about death on my birthday celebration?" Ayako complained.

"Oh we're sorry!" Mai said. "We'll return to talking about just how old you are!"

Monk and John laughed at her words.

"You are supposed to stick up for me!" Ayako whacked Monk on the arm, which made him laugh harder. "You are supposed to be nice to me today!"

"Yes Mai, you have to be nice to old ladies!" Monk berated. Ayako fumed beside him. Masako hid her laughter behind the sleeve of her kimono.

"Back to the point!" Madoka interrupted. "We'll be leaving early on Monday, so please have your things ready."

"Alright Madoka!" Monk said. "Now back to the party!"

Once they had finished the main course, Madoka had organised for a birthday cake to be brought out for Ayako. It was adorned with a large number '27'.

"You didn't have to advertise my age quite so loudly!" She complained after blowing out the candles. "Who wants a piece?" She took up the cake knife and started handing out slices.

"Oh Mai dear I forgot to tell you, the paperwork for your pay rise has gone through, you should start receiving it this month." Madoka told Mai as small conversations broke out amongst the party.

"Thank you so much!" Mai said gratefully. "Naru didn't protest that he paid me enough already?"

"No, actually he was quite keen on the idea. I think he'd been meaning to give you the raise for a while." Madoka said. Mai was shocked, but she tried not to display that on her face. Surely Naru would have complained that she was lazy and fell asleep on the job.

"So what is so haunted about this forest?" Mai asked; keen to talk about the next case.

"It's a popular suicide spot. So there are many spirits there who aren't at rest."

"Like Aokigahara?" Mai asked, referencing the infamous forest.

"I believe so, but on a smaller scale. I think you and Masako will be of great use in this case, assuming you aren't overwhelmed by the sheer number of spirits there. Satou is actually the forest's warden. So he has the unfortunate job of usually finding the poor souls who perished there."

"That poor man! How does he do it? Why would he stay?"

"Because someone has to do the job." Lin said. "And he gets paid well for it."

"Still…" Mai looked down at her piece of cake. She really didn't want to eat it; the thought alone was making her feel queasy. "Can I get a doggy bag for my cake? I'm really quite full." She asked a passing waiter, who nodded.

"Are you okay?" John asked from her other side. "You do look pale."

"I'm fine!" Mai reassured him. She had ignored Gene's advice. She was not pregnant. The fact she was feeling sick was probably a stomach bug. It was not morning sickness. She refused to let it be morning sickness. Buying a test would make it real and she couldn't stand that.

An hour later, they all departed for home. Madoka and Lin gave Mai a lift to her apartment. Once inside, she closed the door behind her and threw the cake away.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

On Monday morning, Mai was the first at the office with her bag packed and ready to go. She hadn't slept well, so in the end, she got up an hour and a half early. Despite this, she was only ten minutes earlier than Madoka and Lin.

"You're early!" Madoka greeted Mai, exiting the van. "Do you want to sit with us in the van? Or in Monk's car?"

"I'll go with you in the van if that's alright. I'm hoping to sleep and I doubt Monk's music taste will help that."

"You are not wrong. Shove your stuff in the back then."

Mai complied, placing her holdall on top of Lin and Madoka's bags. As she closed the door, Monk's car pulled up.

"Who are we waiting for?" He asked out of the window. Ayako waved from the front seat.

"Just Masako and John." Madoka said cheerfully.

But it wasn't long until they were all there and on the road. Mai tried to sleep, but she just couldn't; the road was too bumpy. So instead she listened to Madoka gossiping.

"When do you think Ayako and Monk will get married?"

Lin didn't reply, focusing on the road ahead.

"Because I reckon it must be soon. They've been going out for a few years now and it's about time. Ayako won't want to wait too long because she won't want wrinkly wedding photos." Madoka paused for thought. "I think the bridesmaid dresses will have to be pink. Mai and Masako will both look adorable in pink."

"Cheers." Mai said. Madoka looked round, she hadn't realised Mai was still awake. "When are you and Lin getting married?" Mai asked, getting her own back.

Lin, shocked, braked suddenly, but Madoka and Mai were laughing.

"We'll get married right after you and Oliver." Madoka said. Lin smirked. Mai glowered.

"Why aren't you getting married? You've been together forever." Mai asked.

"Because my father would never forgive me for marrying a Japanese woman." Lin said.

"Really?" Mai said. "That's your reasoning?" She looked at Madoka, to see how she was taking this. However Madoka didn't look upset.

"What's the point anyway? We're happy as we are." Madoka said, and she genuinely didn't look bothered by the idea.

"I don't know, I guess I just imagine everyone in love getting married and having a family. Just seems natural." Mai said, looking out the window.

"But we do have a family. The SPR regulars are our family." Madoka said. Out of the corner of her eye, Mai saw Lin nod. Before the conversation could go any further, Madoka's phone rang loudly. She answered it on speakerphone.

"Madoka! Please can we switch vehicles!" John's voice came down the phone.

"Why?" Madoka asked as Mai laughed.

"Because Ayako and Monk are driving me nuts! Masako is not helping the situation either."

"I was merely pointing out that Ayako does have wrinkles on her face, as Monk stated." Masako's voice could be heard in the background.

"I do not have wrinkles!" Ayako screamed.

"Woman be quiet I'm trying to drive!"

"We were just talking about your wrinkles actually Ayako." Mai said loudly, so the speaker would pick her voice up.

"What?! Why?!"

"Well Madoka was just saying that you'll have to get married soon or else you'll have wrinkly wedding photos!"

"You know she's got a point." Monk said. A very loud silence followed this comment.

"So switching vehicles…" John prompted after a minute.

"We'll stop at the next service station and pick up some lunch, we can discuss switching then." Madoka said calmly and hung up.

"Oh my! Do you think they will get married?" Mai said as soon as the call disconnected.

"Oh I hope so!" Madoka giggled.

At the service station, John and Masako dragged Mai to one side as they headed into the cafeteria.

"What on earth?"

"They stopped arguing as soon as you hung up." John said; his voice full of concern.

"Monk was actually complimentary about Ayako to her face." Masako confirmed.

"What did you start?" John glared at Mai.

"It was Madoka who said it!" Mai whimpered under the heat of his glare.

"Well that's all fine for you; you didn't have to sit like a third wheel in the bad of a very awkward car!" Masako hissed.

Mai looked over Ayako and Monk. They did look like they were being unusually pleasant to each other.

"I'm sorry." Mai apologised to her two friends. "I really didn't think it would cause trouble."

"No, you just didn't think." Masako said cruelly.

"I said I'm sorry okay!" Mai pushed past Masako and joined the two couples at the table they'd chosen. "Look, I am really sorry for saying what I said." She aimed her apology at Monk and Ayako.

"Nothing to apologise for!" Monk said, ruffling her hair. "Now you go and get some lunch."

Madoka and Lin joined Mai in the search for food. The hot food made Mai want to gag, it was greasy and disgusting. She settled for a cold sandwich and some fruit.

As she sat back down at the table, the others got up to go and find food. Lin and Madoka hadn't paid yet and so she was alone. As she opened up the packaging of her sandwich, her mobile buzzed in her pocket.

**Hey, how is the case? Y. xx**

Mai read the text and smiled. Yasuhara had been true to his word and texted her almost every day.

**Not there yet! Just eating lunch. I think I'm in trouble with Monk and Ayako though... M. x**

She took a bite of her sandwich and awaited a response.

**What happened? Y. xx**

**I might have pointed out they've been going out forever and still not married. THEY ARE BEING NICE TO EACH OTHER! M. x**

**No way! Keep me updated! Y. xx**

Mai put her phone back in her pocket as they others re-joined her and started eating again. She watched Monk and Ayako out of the corner of her eye. She could see how happy they were together and they all knew their constant bickering was just their way of showing how much they loved each other. Mai hoped they would get married.

Half an hour later and they were back on the road. Mai had relented and switched seats with John. The car was quiet and after a while, Mai fell asleep.

When she woke, they had arrived on the outskirts of a deep and dark forest.

"I don't like this." Ayako said from the front seat. "I've never felt so many empty trees."

"Empty trees and too many spirits." Masako said from behind her kimono sleeve. Her eyes were wide with fright as they drove down a long driveway. Mai had an uneasy feeling in her chest. The place did feel wrong.

When they arrived outside a large house, everyone jumped out of the car. The van had arrived a minute before they did and Madoka was talking to a man, presumably Kenta Satou. Lin was starting to unpack the van, when Ayako noticed something.

"You have wards on the doors?" She interrupted Madoka's conversation with Satou.

"Yes? I had a miko do them for me years ago, to keep the spirits from the house." Satou said.

"Well where should we set up cameras then Madoka?" Lin asked.

"Leave them for now, let's go inside and talk."

The gang followed Satou into his house. Mai saw Masako relax noticeably as they crossed the threshold and the wards took effect. Once they had all sat down, and Mai had made tea, Satou began his story.

"My daughter, Noriko, went missing first." He took a deep breath before continuing. "She's only 10 years old. Yumi said she'd been playing with imaginary friends in her bedroom before she disappeared. I didn't think anything of it at the time; children have imaginary friends all the time. But when I came home to find Yumi talking to thin air I started to wonder if it was the spirits. A few days later she disappeared too."

"Under what circumstances did you last see each of them?" Madoka asked, her voice gentle.

"I said goodbye to my daughter before I left for work, when I came home Yumi was crying because she couldn't find her anywhere. We searched the house and surrounding area and called in the police. They tried sniffer dogs but didn't find anything. I said farewell to Yumi under similar circumstances. Came home and she was gone. I searched alone before the police got here but found nothing…"

"Has there been any other unusual things happening? Things moving? Strange noises?"

Satou shook his head. Mai watched him from the corner she was sat in. He looked tired, but his eyes did not look as sad as his voice sounded. Something felt off.

"Thank you, please could you show us the rooms we requested." Madoka said, standing and picking up her bag.

Satou showed them to a couple of rooms on the top floor. They chose the biggest one as a base as it was closest to the stairs. Which would make setting up cameras easier. There were not enough beds for everyone, but with the aid of a few roll mats and a duvet, there was space for sleeping for all the members of SPR.

When Satou left, everyone sat down to discuss the plan.

"Well I don't see any point in setting up cameras in the house if he's warded it." Madoka said. "We could set a few up of the exterior?"

"May as well, I'm not sure what else we can do. Perhaps a few facing out of the windows, so they can remain in the dry." Lin suggested.

"Ayako these wards are strong enough right?"

"Yes I had a look, they are better than anything I could produce."

"See now that's what I don't understand." Mai said, remembering the thing that bugged her. "If the house was protected, how could Noriko or Yumi have been talking to spirits?"

"Good point Mai."

"There is something Satou isn't telling us."

**Author Note: Sorry this is much shorter but I wanted to upload something for you all! Please review with as much constructive criticism as you can muster! If anything doesn't make sense or I've spelt something wrong, please let me know! Thank you to everyone who's already reviewed! It means so much! **


	7. Chapter 7

For the rest of the afternoon they set up the cameras, all inside facing out of the windows. There had been a lengthy discussion about what to do with the temperature sensors. In the end they set them up around the perimeter of the house, though they were doubtful of how much help this would be.

"Tomorrow we should get a map of the surrounding area and look for likely spots of spirit activity." Madoka said over dinner. "I want everyone to get an early night tonight, tomorrow may be a long day."

"It's weird to know that we don't have to worry about activity overnight." Mai noted. "You know, because we're protected."

"Yeah why don't we protect the bedrooms more often?" Ayako asked.

"Naru never saw it as a necessity obviously."

They finished eating, cleared up after themselves and played a few games of cards before bed.

"I'm so glad Yasu isn't here!" Mai said. "He would have suggested stripping games by now."

"We can play strip poker if you prefer Mai-san!" Ayako teased. "Although if Naru isn't here I don't suppose you'd want to."

"As if we'd ever beat Naru at poker!" Monk said. "That guy's face is so permanently blank I doubt he remembers how to do facial expressions."

"Actually Naru is awful at poker." Lin blurted out. They all looked round. "His face may not change, but that's not the only way you can tell if a person has a good hand. Gene was always better at poker, because he was never consistent with his tells, so you couldn't tell if it was a genuine tell."

"Too many tell's in one sentence!" John laughed. "And rummy!" He put his hand down on the table to show everyone. Monk cursed.

"You sneaky blighter! I wanted the eight of hearts!"

They played a few more rounds before Madoka forced everyone to go to bed.

The next morning, Mai woke early and dressed. She went to the base, so she would not wake the other women and started playing solitaire with the pack of cards they'd played with the previous night.

"Can you tell Madoka that Lin and I are popping to the nearest town?" Monk had stuck his head through the door.

"What are you getting?" She asked.

"Batteries for the torches and some snacks. Lin doesn't want anyone without a well charged torch while in these woods and quite frankly I agree."

"Fair enough. Safe journey!" Mai returned to her card game as Monk left.

Ten minutes later, Madoka came in, smiling cheerfully as always.

"Morning!"

"Monk and Lin have gone to get batteries." Mai said immediately, before she forgot.

"Oh good! I asked Lin last night but I wasn't sure if he was paying any notice…" Madoka trailed off in thought.

"Why wouldn't he pay attention?" Mai asked, confused. Madoka blushed slightly.

"We were otherwise engaged when I thought of it." She said finally, facing away from Mai, making herself a cup of tea. Mai sniggered.

"Really? On a case?" She remembered what Naru had said 'Are you really so stupid to think I would stay in the same apartment as Lin, when he and Madoka will be fucking every other night?' She hadn't realised quite how serious Naru had been. "Where on earth did you manage to do that without waking people up?"

"On that sofa." Madoka said and Mai jumped up and scampered away from the sofa as if it was diseased.

"Eww!" Mai squealed and Madoka laughed.

"What eww?" Ayako asked as she breezed in.

"Lin and Madoka were fucking on the sofa last night."

"Really? Can't Lin keep it in his pants while on a case?" Ayako did not seem bothered.

"It takes two to tango Ayako." Madoka said, as she started making breakfast.

"I know, I was just trying to ascertain who the initiator was." Ayako

"Hmm." Madoka thought for a moment. "I think it was his fault last night."

"Okay seriously, can you stop talking about doing it while you're making my breakfast?" Mai squirmed from her seat on the floor.

The two women laughed.

Masako joined them at that moment and sat down on the sofa Mai had just vacated. Mai contemplated whether or not to tell her. Ayako, seeing Mai's thinking face, laughed harder.

"What's going on?" Masako asked, nonplussed.

"Seriously, don't ask." Mai shook her head. "Why are you still wearing a kimono? Aren't we going out walking today?"

"I was hoping I might remain behind and watch the monitors, being out there feels horrible."

"Masako as much as I would love to grant you that, we need your skills on this one." Madoka pointed out. "If anyone is going to sense malicious spirits, it'll be you."

"Eugh. I wish Naru was here. He'd solve this easily." Masako pointed out. Mai knew she was right. Naru could have just held something of Noriko's or Yumi's and sensed their location. "I will change after breakfast."

John came in just as breakfast was ready and they all started eating in earnest. Monk and Lin arrived back not long after this with bags of batteries and snacks for the day ahead. Mai couldn't look at Lin, so stared at the food on her plate.

Masako changed after she'd eaten and Mai noticed how weird it was to see her in normal clothing. She had only seen Masako in ordinary clothes once before.

Satou had provided them with maps before he headed off for work. Madoka handed out walkie-talkies, torches and spare batteries for everyone. Although they hoped to be in long before dark, they were in unknown territory and it was better to be safe than sorry.

"Right, now I am going to be staying in the base." Madoka said. "Monk-san and Mai-san you will be going north, Ayako-san and John-san, you will be going east and finally, Lin and Masako will be going west. I don't mind how you search your sector, but keep an eye out for odd behaviour and caves. Satou doesn't think there is anything but he has little experience with this kind of thing."

And so they set off. Monk and Mai trudged out into the bright sun and headed northwards, away from the incoming road.

"Do you want some crisps?" Monk asked after only five minutes of walking.

"We've literally just eaten breakfast!" Mai said incredulously, but Monk was already opening a packet from his backpack.

"What? I'm hungry!"

"Let me guess, you were up all night too, screwing Ayako?" Mai said.

"What?" Monk looked shocked. "Not on case that's disgusting! There's two people missing!"

"Tell that to Madoka and Lin!" Mai mumbled.

"What? Really?"

Mai wasn't sure if Monk was impressed or disgusted, perhaps both.

"Well, all I can say is I'm not sitting on the red sofa anymore."

"No wonder Lin looked so smug this morning."

They continued to walk in silence for a few more minutes.

"Do you want to marry Ayako?" Mai asked, curious.

Monk didn't reply immediately, his cheeks had turned red.

"Yes I do." He said finally.

"Why don't you sound happier about it?" Mai asked. "She obviously likes you."

"But her parents aren't so sure. She comes from a high class family full of doctors and lawyers and other proper professions. I am in a band. And while we're successful now, that could change at any time. The music business isn't a safe job and it's not like I have a lot to fall back on."

"You could teach music." Mai suggested.

"I could. But would you entrust your daughter to a mere music teacher?"

"I would if she loved him."

Monk smiled at her.

"Maybe," He screwed up the empty crisp packet and shoved it in his pocket. "Lets focus on the case."

"I'm sorry Monk, I didn't mean to upset you."

"You didn't upset me! I just need to talk to Ayako about it, and then talk to her father." He gave her a one armed hug and then looked back at the map. "This all looks the same to me. Can you sense anything?"

"The whole place feels off. Sad and angry. But I daren't fall asleep out here!"

"Don't even think about it!" Monk said. "You are enough of a danger magnet." They both laughed and walked on.

Naru was lying on his bed and staring at the ceiling. He had told his parents he was going to bed early, as he was tired from the day's efforts. But it wasn't the case. He was thinking about his brother.

His brother had always been better with girls. Ever since the twins had been of an age to be interested in the fairer sex, Gene had always been able to talk easily to them.

It wasn't that Naru wasn't interested in girls, he had been curious. But he couldn't seem to invite them into his confidence like Gene could. He couldn't pretend their limited minds interested him enough.

So why had Mai reached a place in his heart than no other girl had? Mai wasn't stupid, regardless of how much he teased her, but she wasn't the brightest. Nor was she the most beautiful woman he'd laid eyes on. True, her manner reminded him of Gene sometimes; the only other person he'd been close to. And it was also true that he felt some sympathy towards her as a fellow orphan. But a reminder of his brother or a situation was not enough to explain the burning feeling he felt for the girl.

Mai had wormed her way into his life. She made him worry about her, want to impress her, make her happy and even open up to her. Sure, he wanted to tease her and watch her pout in indignation at him too, but those were just a bit of fun. And now he felt the guilt again, the guilt over how he had left their relationship. Why hadn't he just told her what he was doing?

He could practically hear his brother's voice calling him an 'idiot scientist'. And Gene was right. Naru had thought leaving her angry would enable her to move on easier. Just in case. Just in case he died too. Learning this new method of controlling his PK ability was dangerous. If it went wrong, and he slipped into his old ways, the power could overwhelm him. His heart could stop again and it was all too possible that this time, he wouldn't wake up.

He wanted to talk to Mai. Maybe he would ring her. But what would he say? 'Sorry Mai I tried to break your heart in case I die.' It sounded stupid, despite being the truth. No, he wouldn't do anything. He would leave it until he got back, then he would force her to listen to him. She would forgive him, he hoped.

After a whole day of searching, no one had found or sensed anything. As they sat around their dinner, they discussed the case so far.

"There has been nothing on the monitors, or anything from the temperature sensors." Madoka confirmed.

"And none of us found anything." Lin said.

"The forest is full of spirits." Masako said. "But none of them felt malicious and nothing powerful enough to kidnap a person." Mai noticed Masako looked sad, and remember how deeply the medium felt for the spirits.

"You don't think there is a spirit trapped in the house somehow? Trapped by the charms and hiding the missing people in a hidden room, like in the Urado case?" Mai asked, she didn't really think this would be the case, but it was the only suggestion she had.

"I don't think so." Monk said. "Masako would have felt it. I think it's more likely the woman took her child and left."

"Or another person kidnapped them both." John suggested. "This really should be a police case."

"The police gave up from lack of evidence, they have left the missing posters up but they don't have the resources to continue looking." Madoka said.

"So what is our plan of action?" Ayako asked, she looked tired and slightly sad. The feeling of so many spiritless trees must have taken the fight out of her.

"We'll observe for another day, if nothing appears, we will have to leave." Madoka said. "I feel sorry for Satou, I wish there was more we could do for him."

Later that evening, Mai was readying herself for bed when Masako got up.

"Are you okay?" Mai asked, concerned.

"Yeah, I'm just going to the toilet, don't wait up for me."

Ayako and Madoka were already in bed, so Mai turned the light off and climbed into bed. It took her a while to fall asleep, the bed was uncomfortable and it made her back hurt. No matter how much she wriggled, she just couldn't ease the pain.

The next morning, Mai knew something was wrong as she woke up. She could just feel it in her bones. It took her a minute of looking around the dimly lit room to realise what the problem was.

Masako was missing.


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's note: Warning there is some graphic stuff in this chapter, just so you are warned!**

"Masako?" Mai whispered into the girls' bedroom. "Masako are you there?" She was hoping against hope that Masako was somehow hidden in the room. But there was no response. Mai pulled the covers aside and got out of bed, she tiptoed over to Masako's bed. It was definitely empty. She wondered if Masako was in the toilet, and thought she would check before waking the others.

Mai crept out of the room, shutting the door softly behind her and wandered down to the toilet. But it was empty too, as was the base.

"Where else could she be?" Mai couldn't think of anywhere else to check. She returned to the bedroom and woke Madoka.

"What is it Mai?" She said groggily.

"I think Masako is missing, she not in her bed or the base or the toilet." Mai whispered. Not wanting to wake Ayako as well.

"Are you sure?" Madoka asked. Her eyes were now alert.

"Yes."

Madoka got up and checked the room.

"You stay here, I will double check."

Mai watched her leave and then decided to dress quickly. Madoka returned as Mai was pulling on her shoes.

"I can't see her." Madoka grabbed her own clothes. "Go and wake the men, Mai. Ayako, wake up!" Mai heard Ayako groan behind her as she left. Mai put aside her anxiety about going into the men's bedroom and stormed inside.

"Get up! All of you!" She said loudly. Monk jumped a foot in the air and grabbed his sheets around him. Lin fell sideways off his bed, and John just blinked blearily and looked around. "Masako is missing. We need to find her." Their faces of shock immediately turned to worry. Mai left them to dress and headed to the base. She started making cups of tea and coffee for everyone. Within five minutes, everyone was in the base and drinking.

"Right. Satou has already left; he was called into work early." Madoka said, holding a note their client had left for them. "I want to sweep the house and surrounding area."

"I think it would be best if the men took the forest." Lin said, looking concerned.

"I agree; men are less likely to be taken; it seems to be after women and girls." Madoka said. "You three head out then, take the walkie-talkies, I want contact at all times. We'll search the house, starting at the top."

So the search began. Madoka, Ayako and Mai never strayed far from each other, always within earshot.

"Masako!" Mai called. They had searched the loft, top floor and were working their way around the ground floor when the walkie-talkie cracked into life.

"Madoka? There is nothing out here; we've searched for about a kilometre around the house. Do you want us to head out further?" Lin's voice said.

Madoka paused for thought.

"Do you think she may be further afield?" She asked.

"I don't know, but we can see a reasonable distance though these trees and I can't see anywhere she'd hide. I think asking Mai to astral project might be the most sensible use of our time." Lin said.

"Okay, head back."

"I hadn't thought about astral projecting." Mai said, annoyed with herself. "I found her before, on the Urado case, why not now?"

"I think the ground floor is empty. Is there a basement?" Ayako walked back in from the main kitchen.

"Not that I know of." Madoka said. "Let's go and start some food while we wait for the boys."

Back in the base, Ayako started cooking and Mai slumped in a chair. She wanted to lie on the sofa, but she couldn't stop thinking about what Madoka and Lin had done there.

Mai tried to relax her body, as she'd been practicing in the office, and let her mind fill with Masako. She focused on Masako's short hair and the way she hid her mouth with her sleeve. But she couldn't seem to let her own body go. She suspected Madoka's unrelenting pacing beside her was not helping matters.

The men returned as the food was ready, and they all sat and ate in silence.

"I never should have taken this case." Madoka said finally. "There was barely any link to supernatural phenomena."

"You wanted to help a man who's lost his family. Don't beat yourself up." Lin said.

"Yeah, don't be so hard on yourself just because you aren't an arse like Naru." Monk said.

John was staring out of the window; his face was a mask of worry. Mai watched him rubbing his hands together in anxiety for Masako.

"I think we should look for a basement." Ayako said. "Perhaps there is a tunnel leading away from the house or something…"

They had no better plan. So while the majority of the group went looking for a basement. John remained behind with Mai, who lay on the floor.

"It'll be okay John." Mai said, closing her eyes. "We'll find her."

Mai focused once again on Masako. She could feel herself leaving her own body. Opening her eyes, she found she was no longer in the base, but a dark dank corridor.

It was lit only by candle light.

"Masako?" She whispered. She felt like she was being watched, like bugs were going to creep out of the earthen walls and swarm all over her. Mai couldn't help but think about the Urado case. What was it with secluded houses and creepy tunnels and missing people? Mai crept forwards, thinking she could hear a moaning sound. "Masako?" The light was getting brighter. The moaning sounding more like grunting.

At the end of the corridor, Mai looked into the next room. A candle was stood on a table on one side. And on the other was a horrific sight. Mai stifled a scream. A woman, legs spread, was tied to a post with her feet tied to two other posts with rope. Her clothes were ripped apart to expose her intimate parts and the blood stained stab wounds. Dark hair covered her face, but Mai didn't need to see her face to know the woman was dead. Dead, and not Masako.

There was another door on the opposite wall. Mai crept towards it, the grunting getting louder. Placing her hand on the door knob, Mai took a deep breath, then opened the door.

The room looked much like the one she was in. She had a brief glance of a man preoccupied with another tied up female before she heard a shriek.

"Mai! Run!" Masako was tied up, unhurt, in another corner of the room and screaming at her. The man turned around, saw Mai and picked up his knife. But Mai was already running, running back through the first room and into the corridor. She couldn't look behind her, but Mai could hear the thundering footsteps following her. The corridor went on and on, then slopped upwards. The light from the candle had long ago diminished to a point that Mai could barely see. She was reaching out in front of her and panting for breath.

SMACK.

Mai felt her whole body slam into what she presumed was a door, from the wooden feel on her fingers and face. She fell back momentarily and then started hammering on the door. There was no side passage and this was her only way out.

"Help!" She screamed at the door. "Help! Please!" The footsteps were getting closer.

"You little bitch!" The man growled. He grabbed at her back, but Mai pushed him away, still screaming for help. Then she felt a pain across her cheek and sat up.

She was back in the base. Safe.

"Mai what happened?!" John was staring at her in concern. He grabbed some tissue and pressed it to Mai's left cheek.

Mai ignored the blood pouring from the cut on her face.

"Satou has Masako!" She said, scrambling to her feat. "Where are the others?"

Together they ran down the stairs, Mai didn't answer any of John's questions, she would only have to repeat herself when they found the others.

"… Did you hear that?" Monk was saying, as Mai burst into the kitchen, John hot on her heels.

"Satou has Masako!" Mai said. "They are in an underground tunnel. But he knows I saw him, he chased me! There has to be an entrance nearby."

"What?" Madoka looked shocked.

"Satou did it! I saw his wife and daughters bodies! They are both dead! He has them tied up and was raping them…" Mai trailed off at the horror of what she had seen. "But Masako was okay! She was just tied up! She was going to be next!"

The others just stared at her.

"Was that you screaming before?" Monk asked. "Screaming and banging?"

"Yes! He was chasing me!" Mai realised what Monk's words meant. "So it's near here." She looked around the kitchen. "Behind the appliances!" She said and started pulling the fridge away from the wall.

All around the room, the others were pulling things away from the wall; the washing machine, dishwasher and finally-

"Here!" Lin said, he'd pulled the dryer back in one fluid movement. There was a small door, no more than 2ft high. He opened it and flashed the torch down what appeared to be a tunnel.

"Careful!" Madoka said as Lin climbed through. He dropped down so that they could only see his top half.

"I can't see the end of this tunnel, the elevation decreases for a while." Lin said.

"We should call the police." Ayako said.

"We can't until we've definitely found the bodies." Madoka said. "They won't believe us if we tell them a psychic told us where to find them."

"Hold up." Monk climbed in with Lin.

"Wait for me too!" Mai said.

"No!" Monk looked at her from in the tunnel.

"You can't stop me." She poked him further into the tunnel and climbed in, accepting a torch from John.

"Stay on the walkie-talkies." Madoka ordered. Mai nodded, and then pushed past Lin and Monk. They followed her down the tunnel at almost a run.

Finally they came to the first room. Monk gagged at the sight and Lin looked away.

"She was through here!" Mai said, ignoring the corpse, she was too worried about Masako.

"Mai wait!" But Mai rushed forwards opened the door and looked for Masako. She wasn't there. Then she felt a blinding pain on the back of her head and everything went black.

**Author's Note: Sorry it's short! I might get another chapter up tonight, so please review!**


	9. Chapter 9

Mai woke to the sound of beeping. A slow steady beeping noise from just to her left. She opened her eyes and stared up at the white ceiling. Turning her head, she noted the clinically white walls and machinery.

She was in hospital. Mai wanted to sit up, but her whole body felt heavy.

"I see you are awake!" A cheery voice said. Mai looked round to see a friendly young doctor, complete with stethoscope around his neck. "Do you want to sit up?" He asked.

Mai nodded and the doctor pressed a button on the side of the bed, so it rose to a sitting position. She could see the room better now. Mai had a room all to herself. A TV was perched on a high table and showing some game show with the volume down low. A window to her left had a view of a city she didn't recognise.

"I am Dr Kenji." The doctor said, still smiling. "You took a hit to the head, do you remember?"

Mai nodded again. She remember the pain before she blacked out.

"Is Masako okay?" She mumbled, her voice sounded croaky.

"Yes, all your friends are fine." He sat down on the chair beside her bed. "You've been out for about 2 days, but you should make a full recovery and the baby is fine."

Mai looked at him quizzically, wondering if she heard him right.

"What?"

"There will be no permanent damage to your head, and the baby was unaffected."

"What baby?" Mai asked, her brain was cloudy. What was the man on about?

"You didn't know?" Dr Kenji looked concerned. "You didn't know you were pregnant?"

"I'm not pregnant." Mai said. "I can't be." She wanted to shake her head, but the movement made her feel woozy.

"I'm afraid you are." He handed her a clipboard, pointing to some words. Mai squinted at them. "We took a blood test as we had none of your records here and wanted to ensure everything was in order."

Mai wondered if she was still dreaming, if Gene had somehow orchestrated this nightmare. She couldn't be pregnant. She just couldn't be.

"But I had a period, after we…"

"Bleeding can occur in the first few weeks as the fertilised egg settles into the lining." The doctor told her. Mai remember Gene had said something similar. "Is there someone I can get for you? Your friends are all very worried; they've been calling the hospital every hour for updates."

"What happened to them?" Mai asked. How had they got out of that place? Was Satou locked up? How could she not have thought of these questions?

"I think that would best be explained by them. Shall I arrange a visit?"

Mai nodded.

"Could I borrow a phone? Or if you have it, my mobile? I need to call someone." She wanted to talk to Yasuhara, he would know what to do.

"Of course. I'll let you know when they are going to get here." The doctor came back with Mai's mobile, then left to arrange the visit.

Mai felt numb as she flicked through her contacts to find Yasuhara's name. She didn't believe it.

"Hello?" Yasuhara picked up quickly. "Mai? Are you okay? I heard what happened!" He sounded worried.

"Yasu, I'm pregnant." She said, and the reality of her situation crashed around her. She felt tears come to her eyes and tried to beat them back. But it was useless. They dripped down her face and started soaking her hospital nightie.

"What?"

"You heard me!"

"But I thought you said…"

"The doctor said bleeding can still occur." Mai said, trying to control her tears.

"How's your head?" He asked.

"It's fine, no permanent damage." Mai paused; she could hear Yasuhara breathing down the line. "What am I going to do?"

"You need to tell Naru." Yasuhara said immediately. "It's not fair if you don't. It's technically his child too."

"No! I can't!" Mai's tears renewed in earnest. "Should I keep it? Yasu? Should I abort it?"

"That's up to you Mai." He said calmly.

"I don't know what to do."

"Take a deep breath Mai." Yasuhara said. Mai didn't know how he could stay so calm. "You don't need to decide anything right now. You should talk to Ayako."

"Why?"

"She's a doctor. She can help you through this."

"But then she'll know!" Mai whimpered. "No one can know what happened!"

"She doesn't have to know who the father is! Tell her it was a one night stand! But she's a doctor who will help you, and probably won't charge you as much for it."

Mai hadn't thought about the medical costs. She knew the company insurance covered accidents on the job, but did it include pregnancy too? It had been an accident with her boss, doesn't that count?

"You're right."

"Mai, she won't be able to tell anyone, patient doctor confidentiality remember?"

"I know." Mai could feel her breathing slow. The tears had stopped. Yasuhara was right; she didn't have to make any decisions now. Ayako would help her. It would be okay. Mai saw the doctor standing outside the door.

"I have to go. Can we talk later?"

"Of course, goodbye Mai, it'll be okay." And he hung up.

Dr Kenji came into the room and offered her some tissues.

"Your friends will be here soon, Madoka-san reckoned about 20 minutes."

"Thank you." Mai said. Dr Kenji nodded and turned away. "Please don't tell them." Mai whispered.

"Pardon?" He turned back around.

"Please don't tell them I'm pregnant."

"I can't." He looked sadly at her. "Can I help?"

"Can you reverse time?"

"If only I could." He smiled sadly at her and left.

Mai lay back against the pillows and felt her head gingerly. It hurt a lot on the right side and she could feel a sizeable bruise under her hair. Then she found a long thin scab on her cheek. She had forgotten about the cut she'd received while astral projecting. Running a finger along the length of the scab, she wondered again about the amount of damage she seemed to attract.

It had been Masako in trouble, and yet once again, it was Mai who had ended up in hospital; beaten and bruised. Then she looked down at her stomach. How could it contain life? How could something be growing inside her? Shouldn't she be able to feel if something was there?

A knock on the door brought her back to her senses. A nurse poked her head in.

"Do you want me to let your visitors in?"

"No. Wait, just Ayako-san please." Mai asked, she wanted to get this out of the way and done with.

"Of course." The nurse disappeared and a minute later, Ayako walked in.

"Mai! Are you okay?" Ayako looked flustered, her usually perfect hair and make-up looked slightly off.

"I need your help." Mai said, trying to remain calm.

"What? What is it Mai?" Ayako sat down.

"Will you be my doctor?" Mai looked at her toes, or rather, where here toes lifted the bed sheets.

"Of course, but why? Is there lasting damage?"

"No."

"Then what?"

Mai wasn't sure she could say it again. Saying it again only made it more real. Instead, she picked up the clipboard from the side of the bed and handed it to Ayako. The miko read down the piece of paper and Mai watched as her mouth formed an 'o'.

"Who is the father?" Ayako asked finally, setting the clipboard back down.

"It was a one night stand." Mai figured this wasn't really lying. "I don't want to talk about it. But I need your help. I don't know what to do." And the tears forced themselves out of her eyes again. Ayako swept Mai into her arms and let her cry.

"I will arrange an ultrasound for you, and we can take it from there. Do you have any idea how far along you are?"

"Two? Maybe two and a half months." Mai mumbled, she couldn't think how long ago he'd left.

"And you didn't realise?" Ayako couldn't help but sound slightly accusatory.

"I was trying to ignore it. I thought if I ignored it, it would go away." Mai cried.

"Oh you muppet." Ayako let go of Mai. "It's going to be okay Mai. I will help you though this and support you in any decisions you make." Mai looked up into Ayako's eyes and saw her desperation for it to be okay.

"Thank you."

"Now wipe your eyes, we'll let the others in now, if they ask, I will be continuing to monitor your head injury, although it is not deemed serious, and that's why you asked me in here without them, okay?" Ayako said forcefully. Mai nodded. "I won't tell anyone."

"Thank you."

When they others came in, they all rushed to hug Mai, Masako prominent amongst them.

"You saved me!" She whispered as she held Mai tightly. "I cannot thank you enough!"

"What happened after I blacked out?" Mai asked.

It turned out that Satou had been hiding behind the door, his knife to Masako's throat. He had hit Mai from behind, and thinking that she was alone, had left the safety of his hiding spot. Lin had disarmed Satou swiftly and pinned him down. Monk had taken Masako away while Lin tied Satou up. The police and an ambulance had been called. The two bodies turned out to be Satou's wife and daughter. He had raped and murdered them. He'd then called in SPR to investigate to get more victims into his secluded house.

Mai was disgusted to hear what the man had done, but pleased to hear he was being locked up for life.

"There is a chance he might get the death penalty." Monk said grimly.

"He deserves it." Madoka said, Mai could tell that she was still angry with herself for taking the case.

"As long as he moves on quickly." Mai said; she shared a look with Masako. Neither of them wanted that man haunting them.

Two days later, Mai was finally home. The previous night, Ayako had insisted Mai stay with her. Mai was glad to be home. She put away her things and then thought about how she would have to move out in a few months. There was no room for a baby here.

She hated that her brain had started thinking these things. Planning what she would have to do for it, how she would fit it into her life. Wondering who would care for it while she was on a case. Would she still be allowed on cases? Mai didn't know when she legally had to inform her employer.

She didn't want to tell Madoka. Madoka would tell Lin and Lin would definitely tell Naru, who would figure the whole thing out. But that was a problem for another day.

Lying on her bed, Mai felt the back of her head. There was still some bruising but the lump had drastically reduced. Slowly, Mai drifted off to sleep.

"Hello Mai." Gene's voice said. Mai sat up and looked at him.

"Just say it." She muttered.

"What?" He looked genuinely confused.

"Go on! Say 'I told you so'." Mai tried to temper her anger, but Gene looked too much like Naru for her not to be angry.

"I won't say it Mai, I want to help you." Gene said.

"Help me how? Can you get rid of it?" She asked.

"I wouldn't get rid of them even if I could." He winced at his own words.

"What did you say?" Mai asked, worried that she had heard him correctly.

"Nothing."

"Did you say 'them'?" Mai asked, more forcefully than before. "Gene! Tell me!"

"I told you before! I can sense the new life!" Gene said. Mai continued to glare at him.

"It's twins." He muttered. "Boys I think."

**Author's Note: Please review! Send me your thoughts and I'm happy to answer questions if you want! I love constructive criticism. **


	10. Chapter 10

Mai staggered back a few steps.

"Are you sure?" She asked finally. Gene nodded.

"I've been watching you for a while. I'm sure."

"I am going to kill him." Mai said. Her brain hadn't quite processed what Gene had said. "How am I going to provide for two children? How am I going to go to work?"

"Mai, you need to slow down." Gene said. How was everyone around her so calm? Yasuhara had been calm and Ayako had been calm and now Gene, too, was annoyingly calm

"Slow down? How can I slow down? What am I going to do?" She raked her fingers through her hair.

"You need to tell Noll." Gene said. "He will help you."

"Help me? He left me Gene! He fucked me and then left me! Like I was a whore he paid." Mai yelled at him. "He has no say in any of this. He left me. I hate him."

"You don't hate him." Gene said, infuriating Mai further.

"How would you know?" She asked viciously.

"Because I can see the pain in your eyes every time he is mentioned. He's an idiot Mai, but he left for a reason and he will come back."

"Then I will quit my job before he does." Mai said stubbornly. "I will probably have to anyway."

"Mai, please just tell him. He deserves to know." Gene said quietly. "They are his too."

"No." Mai said plainly. "I want some real sleep Gene."

"Just think about it, please." Gene pleaded, but Mai was already leaving.

Back in her own body, Mai gasped and then turned onto her side, she closed her eyes again and willed herself into sleep.

Oliver held the bottle of whiskey in one hand. He had snuck it up to his bedroom after his trip to a local supermarket earlier. Fed up of making no progress with this new PK technique, he had stormed out of the house and driven to a supermarket to buy some alcohol. He'd never really liked alcohol before. Of course he'd drunk wine at various dinners, but he hadn't enjoyed the taste.

He'd been tempted to give the cashier his Japanese ID when asked for identification, just to see the man squirm at not being able to understand the characters on the little card.

He took a swig of the amber liquid. It burned its way down this throat. He became vaguely aware of the fact he was sitting on the floor and took another swig.

The mirror drew his attention and the young man crawled over to it. Sitting in front of the full length mirror he started to study his own face between sips.

He swayed his head left and right, and his reflection seemed to take a little time to follow. He stuck his tongue out, so did his reflection. Then his face fell back to its usual blank self. He took another mouthful and winced at the fresh burn.

"No wonder they fancy me." He mumbled at his reflection. He smiled; an attempt at a real genuine smile. "No wonder they fancy Gene more. What a bastard." He took another swig; a third of the bottle was gone.

Naru pulled his shirt off and threw it on the floor. The action made him think of throwing another shirt on the floor, all those months ago. He wished he had something of Mai's that he could touch and attempt to use psychometry on it.

Crawling around to his bedside cabinet, Naru searched for something of Mai's. His body felt slow to respond to his wishes. He must have something of hers. But why would he? Why would he keep something sentimental like that?

Cursing, he grabbed the bottle and took a long drink. His throat was numb now. His stomach was churning now. Why had he drunk the stupid amber liquid?

"Idiot scientist." He muttered to himself, hating how much his own voice sounded like Gene's. He crawled back to the mirror and smiled again. It was weird, watching his own face transform into Gene's face in the act of twitching a few muscles.

He felt a pang at the thought of his brother. Gene would've helped him out. Told him how to act around a girl he actually liked. Let him know how to tell her that he was going. But if Gene had been here, he wouldn't have had to leave. If Gene had been here, he never would have met Mai.

Without realising it, Naru fell down onto his side, so he was lying at the foot of his bed. He didn't care enough to get up. His arm reached out and grabbed his shirt, which he balled up and used as a pillow. Then he pulled the duvet down from his bed and covered himself with it.

With half the bottle of whiskey gone, Naru fell asleep on the floor.

The next morning, Naru woke to find a cup of steaming tea in front of him. His mother had obviously been in and removed the bottle of alcohol. He sat up slowly. His head felt awful. Naru took a sip of the tea. It helped, despite not being Mai's tea.

"_I see you are awake_." His mother's voice came from behind him. The English slowly filtered through his brain.

"_Yes._" He agreed.

"_Do I want to know why you were drinking?_" She asked, she didn't sound angry at all. In fact she sounded worried.

"_No._" He took another sip of tea.

"_David will be here in an hour._"

"_I'll be ready._"

An hour later and Naru was once again sitting on the floor, staring at a cushion. His head was still pounding and he wasn't entirely sure he wasn't going to puke. He went through the motions David had taught him. Nothing happened. He tried again. Still nothing.

His desperation to return to Japan, to Mai, built up within him. He had to master this stupid method so he could get back to her. He tried again, putting a little of his anger and frustration into it.

And the cushion moved.

It had jumped in the air and away from him slightly.

"_Wonderful! Well done Oliver!_" David said, Naru could see how happy the man was. He knew his teacher had been worried he wouldn't manage to teach his technique. "_Try again. The control comes with practice. For now just focus on getting something._"

Naru only nodded.

On the Wednesday after she had finally returned home, Mai found herself sitting in the waiting room of the hospital that Ayako worked in. She knew she was a little early, but better that than late.

Eventually, Ayako stuck her head out a door and called 'Taniyama Mai!' Mai got up and followed her to an office.

"How are you feeling?" Ayako asked, another woman came in. "This is Yuki; she is going to do your ultrasound in a few minutes."

"I'm fine." Mai said, although she was rather apprehensive.

"Excellent, follow me then!" Yuki said brightly, and she led Mai through another door out of Ayako's office and into an examination room. She indicated Mai to lie down.

"Now this will be a little cold." She said, as she spread a gooey gel onto Mai's stomach.

Mai lay back, not wanting to look.

"Well that's definitely a heartbeat and a head." Yuki was mumbling to herself as she moved the probe over Mai's exposed stomach. "And wait…" Mai knew what she was about to say, so beat her to it.

"It's twins."

"How did you know?" Yuki said.

"I don't know, just a feeling.

"It always amazes me. So many mothers can just tell." Yuki smiled at Mai. "They both look healthy, both about 5cm long. That makes you about 12-13 weeks pregnant, although that would mean only 11-12 weeks since conception." Yuki said.

"What?" Mai was confused. "Isn't it the same thing?"

"Pregnancy is officially dated from your last full period." Yuki said.

"Oh, I never knew."

"Most people don't, I wouldn't worry. I think Dr Ayako will book you in for another ultrasound in just over a month and we can check up on them, we might even manage to sex them." Yuki handed Mai some tissue to wipe the gel off with.

"Thank you." Mai said. Yuki beamed at her.

"Just pop back through to Dr Ayako when you're ready and I'll go and give her these measurements."

Mai found it weird to hear people talk about Ayako as a doctor. While she knew Ayako was a very capable doctor and miko, it was still weird.

Back in Ayako's office, Mai took a seat.

"Yuki has informed me that everything is alright and that it's monozygotic twins." She looked suspiciously at Mai. "That means they will be identical."

Mai swallowed and stared back at Ayako.

"Mai, when you said you had a one night stand…" Ayako began. "Was it with Naru?"

Mai nodded. There was no point hiding it from Ayako; she'd already guessed.

"Have you told him?"

Mai felt anger bubbling up inside her, why was everyone so obsessed with her telling him?

"No, and I don't plan to."

"Do you want to abort them?" Ayako asked, not looking at Mai.

"I can't." Mai had given it some serious thought over the last few days. While she knew she had weeks to decide, it had taken her only a few minutes. She couldn't kill them.

"Okay, well I will book you for another ultrasound in six weeks' time. And I want to refrain from going on any cases from now on."

Mai began to protest.

"I can't do that! I need my job!"

"I will write you a note, saying that due to your head injury, you must remain somewhere safe." Ayako said calmly. "Madoka will understand, you will just be stuck doing paperwork for a while. I don't think Madoka is keen on taking another case too soon anyway."

Mai nodded.

"You will, of course, have to tell her eventually." Ayako said seriously. "It won't be long before you start showing."

"How long?"

"A few weeks perhaps."

Mai sighed. Nothing was ever easy.

"I'm sorry Oliver!" Madoka said down the phone. "It was a bad call on my behalf and I'm sorry."

Lin looked up at Madoka, he couldn't hear Naru, but knew from the pained expression on her face, he was obviously angry.

"Mai will be fine! Ayako told me I have to leave her off cases for a few weeks, just to make sure, but there is no lasting damage!"

Lin pulled Madoka onto his lap.

"Masako was not stupid enough to tell her father. Everything is fine." Madoka paused and listened for a second. "Fine. I will. Goodbye."

She put the phone down.

"His anger is to be expected." Lin said, hugging his girlfriend closer to him.

"I still don't like it. We have to get permission from him to take cases from now on."

"I can't say I wasn't expecting a measure of that kind." Lin said. "Did he say anything about his training?"

"Yes, he's made progress. Actually manage to move things with no ill effects."

Lin nodded and smiled.

"Come on, let's go to bed." He said, picking his girlfriend up and carrying her through to their bedroom.

"Do you think Mai is really okay?" Madoka asked five minutes later as they lay in bed together.

"I think she will be."

"Why do you think she was crying? In the hospital last week?" Madoka thought back to the sight of the red eyed girl. No one had said anything at the time, but it had been obvious she'd been crying.

"I have no idea." Lin said sleepily, he had given the matter a little thought but hadn't come up with anything.

"It's her birthday soon, maybe we should all go out and celebrate."

"Good idea." Lin pulled Madoka in for one last hug, kissed her on the forehead and then turned over. "Now go to sleep."

**Author's Note: Reviews make me happy!**


	11. Chapter 11

Two weeks later and it was Mai's birthday. She lay in bed, staring at the ceiling. 21 years old. It sounded so grown up and yet she'd never felt more like a child.

She knew she ought to get up. No doubt Madoka would have something planned for when she got to the office. Mai had been left at the office during the last case, as per Ayako's orders. She had missed being on a case, it took her mind off other things, even though she knew it was for the best.

"Come on, better get up! I'd hate to deprive Madoka of an excuse to make mess and noise." Mai said to her stomach. She had started doing this without realising, but whenever she was alone, she found herself talking to her babies. It made her feel less alone in this whole endeavour; the three of them were in it together.

As expected, when Mai arrived at the office, there was an explosion of noise. The entire SPR gang let off party poppers as she entered the office.

"Happy birthday!" They all shouted. Mai grinned at them. On the table there was a variety of party food and drinks. Everyone was wearing childish party hats, even Lin, who Mai thought looked like he'd been coerced into it.

"Thank you!" She said, hugging everyone in turn.

"Come on, let's get some food!" John said. He led Mai to the table and passed her a plate.

"Monk I thought you were providing music?" Ayako complained.

"Oh yeah!" Monk rushed over to the stereo and started fiddling with it.

Mai helped herself to some of the carrot sticks, cocktail sausages and mini pieces of sushi. She made her way over to the sofa and sat down next to Madoka.

"So how long before you're allowed back on cases?" Madoka asked. "It's been a few weeks now!"

"I don't know you'll have to ask Dr Ayako!" Mai said, taking a bite of a cocktail sausage.

"I will need to give her another check-up before I clear her for cases." Ayako said, in a business-like tone. "I would err on the side of caution."

Mai was about to take another bite of sausage when she felt a squirming sensation in her stomach. It wasn't the first time she'd felt her babies move, that had happened a little over a week ago. She still wasn't entirely used to the feeling, let alone the weird 'things are growing inside me' thoughts that came with it.

Trying not to let her thoughts show on her face, Mai kept eating and listened to the conversations around her. Ayako and Masako were discussing plans for Masako's birthday, which was in only two weeks. John and Lin were talking about how they felt the van needed updating. Monk was still fiddling with the stereo.

"What are you thinking?" Madoka asked Mai.

"Just how much I am glad I have you all." Mai beamed up at her. "And how glad I am not to have to do more filing today!"

"As if we'd work on your birthday! I wanted to take you out for something fancy, but Ayako said you'd prefer something smaller."

"She was right, this is perfect. To be honest, I would have settled for seeing Lin in that party hat!" Mai laughed.

"It took me three hours to get him to wear it." Madoka looked fondly over at Lin, still wearing the red hat. "But I was going to use company money for a meal out!"

"Use it for Masako's birthday!" Mai suggested.

"I think I will; a sort of apology after the mess up with the Satou case."

"Hey, that was not your fault Madoka. Satou was a psychopath." Mai consoled her. "Psychopaths are charming when they want to be and then switch in an instant."

"But Naru wouldn't have taken the case." Madoka was obviously still very upset about the whole thing. "He would have known it was all wrong!"

"It takes one to know one." Mai laughed bitterly. "Don't beat yourself up about it. Seriously, everyone is fine! We all make mistakes!" She put an arm around Madoka, chancing a glance at Lin, but he was still in conversation with John. Madoka leant into Mai, accepting the hug.

"I'm sorry, getting all upset on your birthday!"

"It's fine." Mai smiled down at the older woman. But before she could say any more, the stereo burst into life and deafened them all.

"Turn that down!" Ayako yelled and Monk obliged.

"Sorry!"

"You stupid idiot! How hard is it to sort out some music? I thought you were in a band!"

"I play the music! I don't do the tech!"

Mai laughed at the couple. Madoka had released Mai from the hug and offered to get her a drink. Mai gratefully accepted. She was looking around at her friends, a thought had just occurred to her. Who would she pick as godparents? In truth, she wanted them all part of her childrens' lives and she would trust them all to raise them if something happened to her. Was more than one godparent allowed? She couldn't see why not.

A vibration in her pocket made her pull her phone out.

**How's the birthday girl then?** **Y. xx**

It was Yasuhara.

**Fine, just having a little get together at the office! M. x**

"Who are you texting?" Masako nosed.

"Just Yasuhara, he's just wishing me a happy birthday!"

"When's he next down?" Monk asked. "It'd be nice to see the creep again!"

"I'll ask, maybe we could invite him for Masako's birthday?"

"Great idea!" Masako smiled at her.

**Sounds fun! Y. xx**

**When are you next down? Are you free in two weeks' time? M. x**

**I'm sure I could be down for the weekend, why? Y. xx**

**Masako's birthday! And we all want to see you! Monk is missing you XD M. x**

**Sounds great! Y. xx**

"He thinks he can make it!" Mai grinned around at the group, who smiled back.

Around 3oclock, they all departed, mostly due to some members having other places to be.

"Would you like a lift home Mai?" Ayako asked kindly. "I can drop you off before I drop Monk off at the studio."

"That'd be great. Rehearsal?" Mai asked Monk.

"Not exactly, the people brokering the record deal want to look around the studio and see the band working together."

"So why aren't you in a suit?"

"They said it was informal." Monk sounded relieved. "I glad to be honest, I feel so stuffy in that suit."

The trio left the office and climbed into Ayako's car.

"When are you going to tell Madoka?" Ayako asked, when they arrived at Mai's apartment and Ayako had walked her in.

"Soon." Mai said, looking out of the window.

"I can't keep lying about this to her Mai."

"But when I tell her, she will tell Lin, who will tell him." Mai didn't want to say his name.

"I know that. He deserves to know though." Ayako looked genuinely distressed.

"Thank you for the ride home." Mai put the key into the door and let herself in.

"Please think about it." Ayako said. Mai nodded and shut the door behind her.

Sighing, Mai dumped her bag down and went into her bedroom. She was going to change into pyjamas and watch films all night. She was slightly fed up of people telling her what to do. Tell this person, tell that person. She didn't want to tell them, it wasn't any of their business.

Mai knew Ayako was talking sense, but she wish they were just a little more considerate of her when telling her to do these things. She sighed again. Mai stripped off to her underwear and caught her reflection in the mirror. Was her stomach sticking out? Was it the babies? Or was it just because she'd eaten a lot that day?

She couldn't tell. She knew it wouldn't be long until her pregnancy did start showing. Only the previous weekend, her favourite jeans had felt a bit off, a bit tight. Mai had gone shopping that day and bought herself a few loose fitting tops. Nothing that would raise suspicion, they were still 'in' with the current fashions, but just loose enough to hide her growing stomach.

"What film do you two want to watch?" She asked her stomach. "I'm thinking a comedy…" And she started to look through her DVD's.

"_You're doing it! Well done Oliver!_" David sounded ecstatic. Naru smirked at the man. Of course he was doing it. Various objects were flying around him like a mini hurricane. He'd been unable to use this much of his power in years. It felt good.

He hadn't tried to use more than about 50% of what he knew he could do yet. But the new technique was becoming easier to him. The knack seemed to be putting some emotion into it. This had seemed alien to him at first, he liked to remain calm, but it soon became second nature to him. He used his anger against himself, or his feelings towards Mai.

It'd had been her birthday a few days ago. Naru had resisted the urge to phone her and wish her happy birthday. He hadn't done it any other year, why would he do it now? It was a stupid thing to celebrate anyway. Who wanted to be a year closer to death? Then again, he was surprised Mai had made it this long, considering the amount of dangerous situations she seemed to find herself in.

"_Bring them down now, try and keep it controlled._" David said. Naru had been lost in thought and forgotten what he was really doing. He brought the objects down, one by one, and set them in a line. He was challenging himself with this aspect of control, but smirked again as he succeeded.

"_How much power do you think you are using?_" David asked, he was trying not to look too impressed with his student.

"_That was probably only 30%, the other day I used closer to 50%. Maybe tomorrow I will try more, but I think more space is required._" Naru said, looking around the room they'd been practicing in. "_Maybe we should head out into the garden. I need something bigger to practice on._"

He wanted desperately to try lifting one of the cars, but wasn't sure his parents would appreciate it.

"_I'm going to head off, I'll see you tomorrow._" David said and then left. Naru returned to his room, put on some shoes and headed out into the garden. His eyes roamed around looking for something suitably large enough. His mother's rose garden was empty of appropriate items and his search in the orchard proved fruitless.

It was only as he came to the very bottom of the garden, to where a large unkempt pond lay hidden amongst reeds and other wild plants that Naru had an idea. Could he lift the entire body of water?

He wanted to try it. But no one was here. If something went wrong…

Naru looked around; the house was a way off now. But he desperately wanted to try it. Gently, he started to lift a little of the water. A blob of water right in the middle of the pond floated above the rest of the pond. It was pulsing. Naru could sense fish and other living creatures in the pond and brought those up a funnel into the floating liquid. It looked rather like a floating aquarium. Slowly he lifted up more and more of the water and its wildlife.

When he had moved around half of the water, he knew he was now pushing the limits of what he'd previously practiced. However the water just kept rising, he did not feel tired or limited.

"_Oliver! What are you doing?!_" It was his mother's voice, but Naru didn't stop. He could hear her running down the garden path. Her footsteps stopped just behind him. The water kept rising and rising into the floating blob until-

"_You've moved it all!_" Luella sounded shocked. Naru observed the flying water for a moment, and then slowly funnelled it back into the now empty basin. He estimated that had been maybe 75% of his power. When the pond was back where it was supposed to be, he turned around to look at his mother.

She was beaming at him.

"_You did it!_" She stepped forwards and hugged him. Naru did not object to the contact, he obliged his mother and hugged her back. "_Oh I'm so pleased for you!_"

"_Thank you._" He said, releasing his mother.

"_Let's go and tell your father._"

**Author's note: Yay! Happy times for Naru. Which is good, because everything is about to go very, very badly. I think George R.R. Martin and other writers have had a bad influence on me... Please review :)**


	12. Chapter 12

Mai was bored. She had cleaned the entire office, finished all the filing and had even gone to the shops to stock up on tea.

"Do you project with me?" She asked her stomach. "Do I take you with me? Or do you stay here…?" Obviously physically, they did not leave the protection of her body, but did their spirits stay with her? She wasn't sure. "I hope you aren't both smart-arses like your father. I'm sure I would have got some sort of patronising response if I'd asked him that."

Mai got up from her desk and moved to the sofa. She had a vague idea about practicing her projection; it seemed a better idea than just sitting around.

She lay back and relaxed her body. The whole process was more natural to her now. Maybe she would visit Gene.

"Hello." She heard his voice before she saw him. Gene was standing in front of her. "How are you doing?"

"Fine, I have a question and soon as Takeshi and Yasuo are surprisingly silent on the subject I thought I'd ask you." Mai smiled at him.

"Who?" Gene looked confused, but took a guess. "You've named them already?"

"Well it's weird talking to them without names."

Gene laughed and rolled his eyes.

"What is this question?"

"Do they project here with me? Their spirits that is?" Mai sat down in the dream world and Gene joined her.

"They can do, they can't do it alone yet, but you can take them with you if you want to."

"If I want to?"

"Well just like you bring your clothes here, you can bring anything here that you touch."

"And what did you mean about them not being able to do it alone yet?" Mai asked. Gene stared at her as if she was stupid.

"Mai they will have a combination of your powers and Naru's. That is going to be a powerful mix! They'll be able to do everything you can do and more."

Mai hadn't really thought about that.

"They are going to be a handful huh…" She mumbled.

"Lin will help you teach them, he's a damn good teacher when he wants to be." Gene said cheerfully.

"That would mean telling him." Mai pointed out.

"Mai, dear, everyone is going to start noticing soon." Gene pointed out. "I think everyone would prefer it if you told them, than they found out the hard way."

"Eugh." Mai didn't want to tell them. She had got used to the idea that she was pregnant. Telling everyone just seemed to jumble everything up in her head. "But Monk will kill your brother."

"Noll can handle himself. Lin wouldn't let it get out of hand." Gene said, unconcernedly.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, before Gene asked another question.

"Why the names?"

"Takeshi: warrior. Yasuo: calm one." Mai repeated, remembering from the baby name website she had been looking at. "It fits, one of them is very active and the other seems more relaxed."

"What does it feel like?" Gene peered curiously at her stomach. "To have something living inside you?"

"Honestly? Very weird. I feel horribly conscious of them." Mai paused for thought. "I feel incredibly responsible for them. It's not like when we're on a case and I want to look out for the others, to keep them safe. It's like my entire life has become keeping them out of harm's way." Gene sniggered at her. "What?"

"You hardly keep yourself out of danger! How on earth are you going to manage two other lives as well?"

Mai laughed too.

"I am getting better at that!" She whined.

"Damn straight you better be; those are my nephews you are carrying."

"Do you think it's weird that genetically, they'd be the same as your children?" Mai asked.

"No, I got used to the whole identical twin thing a long time ago." Gene laughed to himself.

"I should go." Mai said. "I don't know when the others are getting back from the case."

"Because you were being so productive before." Gene teased.

"Shush, I'll see you soon." Mai hugged him, and then faded back into her own body.

When she opened her eyes, back in the office, she realised the phone was ringing. She groaned as she got up to answer it.

"Who on earth is calling at 5pm? We close soon." Mai mumbled to herself as she picked up the phone. "Shibuya Psychic Research, Taniyama Mai speaking, how may I help you?"

Naru froze, he'd been expecting Madoka to answer, not Mai. Madoka should've been back from their latest case by now. Should he answer?

"Hello Mai." He said quietly. "Is Madoka there?"

There was no reply but he could hear Mai's breathing quicken.

"I will call back later then." He hung up. Mai was still angry at him. He'd expected her to be angry at him. But he wasn't sure what he was going to do to fix the situation.

Madoka, Lin and Monk burst through the door at half past five. Mai had panicked upon hearing Naru's voice and waited for him to put the phone down before she did.

It had taken a hot chocolate to properly calm herself down. But it had been his voice that had spurred Mai to make a decision. She was going to tell Madoka, that night.

She knew it was time. Gene had been right, she was starting to show now and baggy tops would only last so long. Mai wasn't quite ready to tell everyone else yet, that could wait for another day. But she would explain to her acting boss today, so she could ease Ayako from lying.

"Mai!" Monk had grinned upon seeing the young woman. "You couldn't do us a cup of tea could you?"

"It would be my pleasure." Mai jumped up and headed to the kitchen. "Lin? Madoka? Would you like some?"

Her question was met with general assent, so she went about making three cups of tea. Her brain was busy trying to figure out how to tell Madoka.

"I think alone in her office." She told her stomach. "So Lin doesn't hear."

"So Lin doesn't hear what?" Madoka's voice came from the kitchen door.

"I need to talk to you alone in a bit, it's no rush." Mai answered, handing her a cup of tea. Then she picked up the other two.

"Okay, after Monk has left then." Madoka agreed.

But it took them an hour to get Monk to leave. He had felt the need to relay the entire case to Mai and exactly how hard the exorcism had been in great detail. While Mai usually loved to hear about the cases and enjoyed Monk's exaggerations. Today she wanted him to leave before she lost her nerve.

Eventually though, he left. Madoka returned to her office and called Mai in a few minutes later. Mai could feel her heart beating faster as she stepped into the room and closed the door behind her.

"What is it you want to talk to me about Mai?" Madoka indicated a seat, which Mai sat down in.

"It's about my medical situation."

"Your head? Is everything okay? Please don't say you are leaving us?" Madoka looked very concerned.

"No, my head is fine. Actually it's been fine for a while…"

"But Ayako's note?" Madoka looked confused now, and Mai felt a pang of guilt for lying to her.

"I asked her to write that to cover up another condition." Mai said calmly. "I'm pregnant."

There. She had said it. She could feel the nervous energy that had built up inside her drain from her body.

"What?" Madoka was shocked.

"I going to have-" Mai started, but Madoka interrupted.

"I know what pregnant means, but how?"

"Madoka I am not going to give you 'the talk'. I can ask Lin to do that if you like, I'm sure he'd be happy to demonstrate." Mai tried not to laugh, but Madoka's reaction was proving to be fun.

"Who's the father?" Madoka asked after a short silence.

"I don't feel the need to answer that." Mai said, reminding herself irresistibly of Naru. "It was a one night stand that meant nothing."

"When are you due?"

"Late January I think. But I don't want the others to know. You have to promise not to tell."

"You won't hide this from them for long Mai." Madoka said.

"I know, but I want to tell them myself. So you have to promise not to tell any of them, not even Lin."

"I promise." Madoka said soberly.

"Thank you." Mai said.

"So who are the godparents?" Madoka asked, her face changed from sombre to excited in microseconds.

"I haven't decided yet." Mai laughed. "But you are on the shortlist."

Two hours later and Mai was back at home, she had called Ayako and informed her that she had told Madoka. Ayako had been relieved, and Mai promised to tell the rest of the group soon.

That weekend, Madoka and Ayako took Mai shopping. As two potential godmothers, they felt it was their duty to start providing advice on Babygro's and booties and dummies. Mai had laughed and gone along with it.

"Do you want to go for the matching thing?" Ayako had asked as they browsed baby clothes. "You know; identical twins in identical clothes?"

"I don't know. I don't think so, I need to be able to tell them apart."

"You're their mother; you will be able to tell them apart." Madoka said knowingly. "Mothers just know. Luella wasn't even their biological parent and she could always tell Oliver and Eugene apart. Even when dressed identically and pulling the same facial expression. In fact I remember one time when Eugene tried to pretend to be Oliver. Oliver was in on the trick. But Luella hadn't even noticed he'd been trying, bless him." She smiled reminiscently.

"What if I can't?" Mai asked suddenly, she hadn't really been listening to Madoka. "What if I can't tell them apart? What if I can't look after them? How do you even look after little boys?"

"We'll help you." Ayako said reassuringly. "Thousands of people bring children up every day, Mai, if they can do it, so can you. And we don't know they are boys yet."

"But I want to do it well!" Mai said, she could feel tears in her eyes. This wasn't an exam that she could practice for. "What if they hate me?"

"Mai, they are currently this big." Ayako held her hands a few centimetres apart. "They are not big enough to hate you yet. You are their mother, they won't hate you."

"But what if I do it wrong?"

"You won't do it wrong." Ayako said calmly.

"Why do you think they will be boys?" Madoka asked. She was rifling through various coloured baby socks.

"Gene told me." Mai said quietly. "He visited me in a dream and told me he could sense them. He reckons they are boys."

"Do you reckon you could convince him to work at the hospital? His method is quicker than an ultrasound." Ayako laughed at the idea. "Excuse me Miss, I'm just going to ask my boss's dead twin brother what gender your baby is!" She put on a voice to indicate the imaginary situation.

Mai and Madoka laughed.

"I think these Babygro's." Ayako had found a complementary pair. They were blue and white with a starry pattern on them.

"We can't buy anything yet!" Mai said. "They aren't due for ages! If I let you two start now, by the time they are born I will have enough stuff for twenty babies."

Ayako and Madoka both pouted.

"No." Mai said authoritatively, waggling a finger at the pair. "Put them down."

"Yes mum." Madoka put down the booties and Ayako put down the clothes.

"Then let's go for lunch!" And the two women grabbed an elbow each and marched Mai out of the shop.

The following week, Mai found herself, yet again, bored in the office. Literally everyone was on this case except for her and it sounded like it wasn't going so well. Mai had confirmed the booking for the restaurant for Masako's birthday party that weekend. They were going to an uptown Italian restaurant. Mai was looking forward to the meal. She hadn't tried Italian before, although she was slightly worried about her ability with knives and forks.

Promising to herself that she would practice later that evening, she pulled out her phone.

**Are you still coming this weekend? M. x**

While she waited for Yasuhara to reply, she wondered what she could cook that evening to practice knives and forks with.

**Of course! I have booked my train ticket! Y. xx**

**Can you eat stir fry with knives and forks? M. x**

**I would advise chopsticks, but you can try? Y. xx**

**I want to practice before the weekend, soon as it's an Italian restaurant. M. x**

**Ah, good plan. How are the babies? Y. xx**

Yasuhara had asked her this question almost every day, and she smiled at how much he cared for their wellbeing. Maybe he would be a good choice for godfather.

**Still there! Takeshi is wriggling a lot today. M. x**

She had told him the names she'd provisionally chosen and Yasuhara was sure she'd named one after him. True, Yasuo did sound a bit like Yasu, but Mai hadn't intended it.

**Awesome, can I stay at yours this weekend? I'm happy with the couch. Y. xx**

**Sure! M. x**

Mai looked up at the clock and decided it was time to go home. She wanted to pop to the shops on her way home for some food for tea. She locked the office behind her and started on her way home.

"I might buy some chocolate." Mai said wistfully. "Will that calm you down Takeshi? Yasuo have a word with your brother."

In the local supermarket, Mai picked up a large chocolate bar and some fresh vegetables.

She hummed lullabies the whole way home, hoping it would calm Takeshi down. The baby felt like it was trying to escape already. But her songs had no effect.

Mai attempted to eat her stir fry with a knife and a fork. She owned a few pairs as they'd been a gift from John last Christmas. He'd known she wanted to improve her skills, but until now she hadn't actually thought to practice. Cursing herself for not starting sooner, she continued to try and pick up her food with the strange contraptions.

"How do people do this?" Mai muttered. She gave up and finished her lukewarm food with chopsticks. Then she lay on the sofa and relaxed still clutching the knife and fork, she had had an idea.

"Gene?" She called out experimentally.

"Yes?" The voice came from behind her.

"You have to show me how to use these things." She held out the knife and fork, pleased that she'd managed to bring them with her into the dream world.

"A knife and fork?" Gene laughed. "But they are easy!" He took them from her and demonstrated stabbing something with a fork and cutting it with a knife.

"But how to you pick things up?" Mai watched, but couldn't seem to understand how the movement translated to being able to eat the food. "You have to help me! We're going to an Italian restaurant and I have no idea how to do it!"

"Italian huh? Are you going for pizza or spaghetti?"

Mai just looked at him blankly.

"Go for spaghetti. Try carbonara actually, that was always my favourite." Gene reminisced.

"But how do I eat it?"

"Well, you stab it with the fork and then twirl it around, so lots of the spaghetti is on the fork and then you scoop it upwards and eat." He demonstrated.

"Right show that to me again." Mai said. Gene did it again.

"You just need to practice. Go for spaghetti, then take chopsticks and you can switch if it's not working. No one will care really."

"Sure." Mai felt Takeshi squirm again. "I really wish he'd calm down."

"What?" Gene looked confused.

"Takeshi is being a wriggly little bugger today." Mai said, placing a soothing hand on her stomach. "Here, feel!" She took his hand and held it to where Takeshi was moving.

"I can't feel anything." Gene said, looking amused. "Are you sure you're not imagining it?"

"Yes! Maybe it's because they are more linked to me."

"He does seem upset about something." Gene said, his eyes had glazed over slightly. "His spirit seems restless."

"Give me those things back." Mai indicated the knife and fork. "I should go back to my body, see if I can console him." She thought maybe a hot chocolate would help.

"Take care Mai." Gene hugged her briefly and then she woke back in her living room.

He felt warm. Warm and safe. He couldn't see anything, but could feel a restless soul close to him. He didn't feel very concerned about the soul next to him. He was content in his own space. He did not want for anything. His lifeline supplied everything he needed.

Suddenly, something was wrong. There was pain. Pain and pushing. Something was pushing him from his space. The restless soul next to him had fallen still. It was no longer moving. Then the pain intensified. His lifeline wasn't working. It had been disconnected. He wanted to put it back but he couldn't move enough to do anything. He felt like he was drowning. His brain felt fuzzy and sleepy and cold.

Naru sat bolt upright in bed, panting heavily. The nightmare had been vivid, too vivid. Something was wrong.

**Author's note: Someone explain to me why Chapter 10 has more views than Chapters 8 or 9? Surely you need to have read 8...? Anyway please review!**


	13. Chapter 13

"So we'll be home later today. Do you want to wait at the office? We could all have a cup of tea and some biscuits or something." Madoka was saying down the phone.

"Sure! I could do with some company. Are you alone?" Mai asked.

"Yes." Madoka's voice said.

"I think I am going mad, I have been talking to my stomach all day. I need someone to start replying!" Mai heard Madoka laugh.

"We'll be back soon enough." Madoka said.

"You better be!" Mai said and hung up. It was the Friday before Masako's birthday meal and Mai had spent most of the day practicing with her knife and fork. She had brought in some cold cooked noodles to try and pick up. She could manage it about 50% of the time. Mai hoped this would be good enough for the restaurant they were going to visit. She didn't want to embarrass Masako. Although everyone there would not mind one bit, she didn't want to steal the attention by making a fool of herself. It was Masako's celebration and the focus should be on her. This was partly why she had decided to wait another week before breaking the news of her pregnancy to the rest of the group.

She had been impressed at Madoka for keeping quiet for so long. Mai had told her acting boss that she would reveal it the following week, so that Madoka knew how long she had to keep silent for. Mai knew Madoka was bursting to tell everyone by the looks she'd thrown Mai over the last week or so. She suspected the only reason Madoka was keeping so quiet was because she didn't want to jeopardise her chances of being godmother.

A few hours later and the entire SPR gang came in, obviously very tired. Mai supplied tea and biscuits to everyone as they sank into the various sofas. She had expected Monk to burst into a retelling of the case. But no such story came. Everyone looked exhausted. Mai was just returning the tray to the kitchen when her phone buzzed.

**I'm going to be at the train station in about 5 minutes, fancy picking me up? Y. xx**

**Sure! M. x**

"Guys, I'm just going to go and collect Yasuhara from the station." Mai said, picking up her bag.

"Alright." Madoka said. "Be safe, we'll wait here. I don't think any of us feel like moving too much." There were murmurs of assent from everyone else. Mai wondered how hard the case had really been.

The summer day was warm and bright. The train station was only a few minutes away on foot. Nothing should have gone wrong.

Mai was just about to turn down a street on her left when a voice behind her made her jump.

"Hand it over girlie." It was a rough voice. Mai spun and saw three men. They were thin and looked malnourished. They all had scraggy beards and their clothes looked like they hadn't been washed in weeks. "Hand over all your money and your phone and any other valuables you have upon your person."

Mai was terrified. She could hear the blood pounding in her ears.

"Here!" She threw her bag at the men. One of them, the shortest man, caught it, and another, the tallest, came forward to stop her from moving away. He pulled her into an alley and pinned her against the wall.

"How much does she have in there?" The third asked.

"Not a lot. Where's your phone missy?"

The tallest man groped in her pockets for her phone. He pulled it out and threw it back to his accomplice.

"Anything else you are hiding from us?" The shortest man growled. "I think we should teach you a lesson for hiding this from us." He waved the phone at her.

"No! Please! You have everything!" She pleaded, tears rushing to her eyes. "Please! Don't hurt my-"

But she was cut off by a painful blow to the stomach. Mai crumpled to the floor in agony. She tried to protect her stomach with her arms. She tried to curl up tighter. But the men were kicking her now. Kicking her face, arms, stomach and legs. They hit any part of her they could reach. Mai tried to cry out, to beg them to stop. Surely someone would stop them. But there seemed to be no one around.

Eventually it was over. They ran off. But still no one came to her aid. Mai could feel blood on her legs and face. She had to project herself to the office. If there was any chance she was going to save her babies, she would have to get them to find her.

But relaxing was hard. How could she relax when her entire body was in pain? Eventually she gained enough control over her body to force it to slow down. She focused everything on the office, where the only hope for her babies was.

"Ayako!" She cried as she appeared in the office. "You have to help me!"

The others had all shrieked when she materialised, but she had no time to soothe them.

"I am laying in the alleyway three streets away. Please you have to help me!" She had a brief glimpse of everyone rushing to their feet as she collapsed to the ground and returned to her own body. The pain was too much.

Ayako was leading everyone down the road. She was sprinting between the other pedestrians and pulling out her phone to call an ambulance. She was vaguely aware of the others behind her, but she didn't care if they couldn't keep up.

When she spotted Mai, who was curled into a ball, she fell down beside her. Taking note of the blood seeping from her head, Ayako checked for a pulse.

"She's still alive." She was still on the phone to the emergency services, an ambulance had been dispatched. But she could start the immediate care. She pulled her outer shirt off and used it like a bandage around the cut on Mai's head.

Monk appeared behind her and she heard him whimper at the sight.

"Put pressure on the cut on her head." Ayako yelled at Monk, who followed her orders immediately. Lin, Madoka, John and finally Masako appeared and watched silently.

Ayako couldn't ignore the blood between Mai's legs. Blood that she hoped desperately didn't mean what she thought it did.

The ambulance arrived and Ayako helped the paramedics place Mai on a stretcher.

"Does she have any medical conditions?" They asked.

"She's pregnant." Ayako said, a tear ran down her cheek at the sight of Mai. The ambulance left in a wail of sirens.

"What did you say?" Monk asked, putting his arms around her. The others had crowded around her now.

"Mai was pregnant." Madoka said, shocked by what had happened.

"Don't say was." Ayako turned on Madoka. "She is pregnant. They will be fine." Tears were streaming down her face now.

"Don't you start on her." Lin said protectively, moving in front of Madoka.

"Don't fight." John said calmly. "Mai is currently on her way to hospital; don't you think we should go there too?"

"Yes, you're right." Madoka agreed. "I'm sorry Ayako." The two women hugged and cried.

"I will go and get Yasuhara." John said. "We'll meet you back at the office, then head off, okay?"

They all nodded.

When Mai woke, she knew something was very wrong. Her head felt like someone had taken it apart and put it back together very clumsily. Her arms were heavy and painful.

She couldn't feel Takeshi squirming or Yasuo's calm presence. Why weren't they moving? Were they asleep? Did babies sleep in the womb?

The light above her bed was bright and painful on her eyes. Gingerly, she felt around her. She was in a bed, a bed that was not her own.

"Hello?" She croaked. She tried to sit up, but her arms did not feel strong enough.

"Hello Mai." It was Ayako's voice. "Hang on, I'll help you up." The bed started to bend her into a sitting position.

"Ayako where am I?"

"You're in the hospital. Do you remember the thugs beating you up? In the alleyway?"

Mai thought for a moment. She remembered being stopped. She remembered handing over her things. She remembered the pain.

"Are they okay?" Mai whispered. Ayako took Mai's hand in her own.

"You lost them Mai. The beating caused a miscarriage. They're gone." Ayako was trying not to cry. But Mai just felt empty and numb. How could they be gone?

"No." Mai said, as if saying this would make what Ayako had told her untrue.

"I'm sorry Mai. There was nothing they could do."

"They can't be gone."

"The hospital has them if you want to bury them. We can arrange a proper funeral."

"No!" Mai wailed. "They can't be gone!" And she broke down in great racking sobs that shook her bruised body. Ayako drew her into a tight embrace. They sat like that for what seemed like hours.

"The others are all here. They want to see you." Ayako said finally. "But I can send them away, if you don't want to see them."

"How long have I been here?" Mai whispered.

"Almost a week; it is Thursday today."

"But Masako's birthday party!" Mai said in horror. "I'd been practicing with knives and forks."

"Don't worry about that now."

"Let them in, I need to apologise." Mai wanted to focus on anything that wasn't the loss of her babies.

"Mai, really, no one minds." Ayako said softly.

"Let them in." Mai said harshly, and then softened. "Please? I don't want to think right now. Let them all in, let them all make noise. Let Monk and Yasuhara rage at the people that did this and let Madoka cry and let John and Lin comfort her while Masako sits quietly in the corner, unsure of what to do." Mai let fresh tears run down her face. "You are all my family, Ayako, and I want you all here."

Ayako only nodded, her own eyes swimming in tears. She stuck her head out of the door and called the rest of the SPR gang in.

Mai watched them as they came in.

"It'll be okay guys. I'm okay." She said, and they all reacted exactly as she predicted.

"If I ever find the arseholes that did this to you Mai, I swear I will rip them limb from limb!" Monk said angrily. Yasuhara, too, was obviously furious at the situation. But Mai sought out Masako.

"I'm sorry for ruining your birthday." She whispered. Masako shook her head.

"I will have another." She said. Mai watched as silent tears dripped down Masako's cheeks. "They did not linger, Mai. They moved on. They are safe." Masako said quietly, it was the only comfort she could offer.

"Thank you." Mai felt her eyes welling up again. She looked at Madoka, who was sobbing into Lin's shirt. John was patting her arm awkwardly.

"Madoka, you better not be blaming yourself."

"I should've come with you!" Madoka wailed. "I knew your situation! I shouldn't have left you alone!"

Mai knew nothing she could say would help. She lay back, amongst the crying and angry members of her family. Yet she'd never felt so alone.

A week later, Mai sat in the office, surrounded by her family. They were all dressed in black; mourning clothes. They had buries the remains of Takeshi and Yasuo next to her parents. The tiny grave had looked almost comical next to its fully sized counterparts.

John had taken the ceremony. It was the least he could do in a situation he otherwise felt useless in. Mai had cried into various shoulders, first Ayako, then Monk and finally Yasuhara, who had stayed for the week.

There had been times over the last week that Mai had felt almost normal, but then the reality of the situation crashed back over her. She had cried so many times over so many tiny things that she had forgotten what a normal thing to get upset at was.

And now they were sitting in the office, clad in black and surrounded by silence.

Naru had arrived back on Japanese soil a little over an hour ago. He had taken the first flight back once David had been convinced of his ability to control the new technique. His mother had taken him shopping in celebration and forced him into clothes that weren't black.

Naru had allowed her to do this. He had put Gene to rest and he could now control his powers without his brother. He knew Gene wouldn't mind and it made their mother happy. So he sat in the taxi, wearing a charcoal grey suit and a midnight blue shirt. It felt good to wear something new. It filled him with hope.

He hadn't phoned ahead to the office. Madoka hadn't asked about a new case, so he knew they should all be there. He was going to surprise them. He was going to apologise to Mai and make everything right.

The taxi stopped outside SPR and Naru jumped out. He grabbed his bag and paid the driver, unable to contain his happiness at being back where he belonged. He walked up the stairs to the office and paused outside. He couldn't hear anything through the door. Wondering how Madoka and Mai were managing to stay quiet for so long, he opened the door.

They all looked up at him and stared in shock, as if they'd forgotten who he was.

"Why are you all wearing black?" He asked, arranging his face in his usual blank expression. Black was not good.

**Author's note: Please don't hate me... I cried while writing this.**


	14. Chapter 14

"Ayako, will you tell him?" Mai broke the silence. "Tell him everything."

"Tell me what?" Naru asked, now very concerned.

"Please Ayako?" Mai pleaded and Ayako nodded. "Yasuhara, will you take me home? I'll see the rest of you tomorrow. Thank you for today." Yasuhara helped Mai to her feet and they left. Naru watched them leave, and then looked back at the others.

"Tell me what?" Naru repeated his question.

"Come with me." Ayako said, and led him into his own office. "Please sit down." She closed the door behind them. Naru sat, utterly nonplussed by the situation.

"Before you left, Mai spent the night with you?" Ayako started and he nodded. "I know what happened that night, so don't bother to deny it. Mai fell pregnant as a result of that night. According to Gene, it was identical twin boys." Naru couldn't feel his fingers. "Last week, Mai was mugged and beaten almost to death. She miscarried. Today was the funeral." Ayako stared at him, waiting for a response, but the numb feeling in his fingers was spreading throughout his body. "I'm sorry; I know this is a lot to take in." Ayako only then seemed to realise how much she had placed upon him in one go.

But Naru couldn't respond. He didn't know what to do.

"I supposed I should also point out the only people that know you were the father are myself, Mai and Yasuhara. She wasn't very happy with you when you left. In fact it was only myself, Madoka and Yasuhara that knew she was pregnant until last week." Ayako's business-like tone seemed to falter somewhat.

"Thank you for telling me this." Naru said, with no hint of emotion. He got up and left the office. Only Monk, Madoka and Lin were left. Lin had his arm around Madoka, who was staring into space, her cheeks still red and puffy from crying.

"Why did you not tell me?" He asked Madoka. "Why did you not tell me my assistant would be taking maternity leave?"

"Don't start on her." Lin said, starting forwards, but Naru was ready for this. He swept his hand up and to the side. Lin's body rose, flew right and was held in mid-air, unable to move.

"Because Mai told me not to! She wanted to tell everyone herself!" Madoka said. "Now let him down!" Naru ignored her.

"That was a business matter! I would have had to find a replacement; you had no right to keep that from me."

"I'm sorry Oliver." Madoka had started crying again. Naru let Lin down, who rushed straight to Madoka and comforted her, glaring at Naru.

"I see you can use your PK again." Monk said from behind him. Naru spun around.

"That was the whole reason for my trip to England." Naru said. "I need to see Mai." And he left. Why had no one told him? If he'd known, he would have returned and protected her.

Why had he left without explaining to Mai?

Naru was running down the street. He had left his bag at the office. He had to get to Mai's apartment. But it was only as he arrived outside; he remembered that she'd moved. But to where?

"Do want a lift home?" Lin's voice said behind him. A car had pulled up, with Lin, Madoka and his bag inside. Naru shook his head.

"Where does she live?"

"Not today, Oliver." Madoka said. "Give her some time."

"Give her some time? They were mine too!" He had said it before realising that they did not know this. Madoka's mouth fell open, but Lin did not react.

"She still needs time Oliver." Madoka said quietly. "Come home."

Naru looked at Lin, silently begging him to give in, but Lin shook his head.

"Fine." Naru got in the back of the car and stared pointedly out of the window. Lin started to drive them all back to their block of apartments and Naru wondered how his grand return had gone so badly wrong.

In his head, he had planned to arrive and surprise everyone. Mai was going to be mad at him and he was going to explain why he had gone away. She would have forgiven him and then he would have broached the subject of taking her on a date or something.

He was embarrassed to admit that on that night all those months ago, he had not even thought about contraception. He wasn't sure quite how he felt about being a father to two dead babies. Naru had not even thought about whether he wanted children. But now that he'd almost had them and lost the chance; he felt like he wanted them more. He didn't want to miss out on this experience. Obviously, Mai would've wanted children before this had happened. Maybe not this early in life, but he could easily imagine Mai being a wonderful mother. He wondered how she felt about it now. Surely she would be a bit put off, scared of feeling like she was replacing those she'd lost.

"I did not know they were yours, Oliver." Madoka said; when they were about halfway home. "Had I known, I would have told you." Naru did not reply.

Once they were back and in the elevator, Lin invited Naru for dinner. He accepted on the basis he had no food in his own flat.

"Tell me about your training." Lin asked as he cooked. Naru jumped on the subject, glad of something to talk about that wasn't dead. He told Lin all about the new techniques, the problems he'd had and how he overcame them. Naru knew Madoka was listening from the sofa. But neither of them asked any questions.

"Care to demonstrate?" Lin asked, indicating the chopping board and knife that he had just put down. Naru didn't move, but the knife floated into the air and appeared to start chopping the rest of the vegetables. His wasn't even looking at the chopping board. But once the chopping board floated into the air and the knife scraped the cut vegetables into the wok, then the wok picked itself up and flipped its contents expertly.

"You have great control." Madoka commented. Naru turned and looked at her, his facial expression asking if she'd really expected anything else. "How much can you do at once?"

"I could run an entire restaurant kitchen single handed." He thought for a moment. "Could probably wait the tables too."

"Well if we ever run out of ghosts to study, I will buy you premises." Madoka said, a hint of a smile pushing the corner of her lips upwards.

After they'd eaten, Naru returned to his own flat. It felt lonely and cold. He put his things away and changed into comfier evening clothes; clothes that were black. He had been out of mourning clothes for only a few days. At least his black clothes would not go to waste.

Standing in his bedroom, he looked at the bed. That was where this had all started. He knew it wasn't logical, but he didn't want to stay in the room. Closing his bedroom door behind him, he carried a pillow and blanket over to the sofa. Naru put some quiet music on and lay down; staring at the ceiling and thinking.

He needed to talk to Mai. He still hadn't explained his absence to her and he wanted to do that, even if she hated him. He needed her to know. He used PK to turn off the lights and music. Sleep was going to take some time to come.

"Come on Mai, get up!" Yasuhara called through the door. "I have made breakfast!"

Mai did not want to get up. Her body was still bruised from the attack. Everything hurt. Sitting up used far too many muscles that would complain.

"Mai! It'll get cold!"

She winced as she forced herself out of bed and towards the kitchen. A plate of food was waiting for her.

"What is the plan for today then?" Yasuhara said cheerfully.

"I don't want to do anything." Mai said, hoping he would leave her to her grief. "Maybe I will visit them today."

"Mai, you have visited them every day for the last week. You need to go and do something else." He said between mouthfuls of his own breakfast. "You will have nothing to tell them about otherwise."

Mai thought about it, she knew he was right. When her parents had died, she had visited them and told them about her day.

"What do you want to do?" She asked.

"We could go for a walk? Or the cinema? Or shopping? Or bowling?"

"I haven't been bowling in ages." Mai said thoughtfully. "Do you think the others would come?"

"I think Ayako is on call, but the others should be able to come." Yasuhara said cautiously. They had found out a few days ago that Naru had spilt the beans about his being the father. Mai had avoided the rest of the SPR gang since then. "Are you sure you want everyone there?"

"I can't avoid them forever. Besides, it's him Monk will want to kill, not me." Mai said. She finished her food and headed for a shower. She could hear Yasuhara clearing up the breakfast things. He had been so kind to her the last few weeks, the last few months really. When she'd first got home after the attack, he had had to help dress her because her own arms hurt to do much. Although she'd been a little worried about this, Yasuhara had done nothing to take advantage of her situation; he'd even closed his eyes.

When out of the shower, she returned to her room to find Yasuhara sifting through her clothes.

"What are you doing?" Mai said, hitching her towel up a little higher around her body.

"Finding you something to wear that's nice. You keep wearing dull things."

"Those clothes were comfy." Mai said defensively.

"Well today I want you to look pretty." Yasuhara said confidently.

"Why? Everyone knows what I look like." Mai said, shaking her head at the man.

"Knowing you look good improves your mood, why do you think I'm always so happy?"

"Careful! Or I'll start calling you Naru!" Mai teased. Yasuhara laughed too as he pulled out a dress and complimentary cardigan.

"How about these?" He suggested. "The cardigan would cover your bruises, but the colours are much more summery."

Mai reluctantly agreed and Yasuhara left the room so she could dress.

In the living room, he started phoning people and organising the bowling trip. He had been right about Ayako being at work, but everyone else agreed to come. Yasuhara had paused before phoning Naru, but figured Mai would have to face her boss at some point. And that a group setting where he couldn't corner her seemed like a good place to start.

Mai came out of her bedroom and twirled around in the beautiful blue dress. Yasuhara noticed she'd put a black ribbon in her hair and nodded approvingly. She was still in mourning and had marked it, but she was trying to move on.

"You look beautiful. I have booked a lane at 11 o'clock." He told her. "Let's head into town now and we can wander around for a bit."

Mai agreed and so they walked to the shops. Yasuhara noticed that Mai was a little jumpy whenever they walked past an alleyway. He couldn't blame her. He had offered his arm to her and she clung to it as they walked as if it was a lifeline.

"I could do with some new socks." Yasuhara declared when they arrived at the shopping centre. "I think all universities have sock stealing ghosts."

"Really?" Mai asked incredulously.

"Oh yes, I started this academic year with at least 20 pairs! But now I have about 4 pairs and none of them match."

Mai laughed and dragged him into a nearby clothes shop. They spent ages looking though all the various patterns and novelty socks. Yasuhara let Mai pick out a few funny pairs for him alongside some plain socks that he'd selected.

"We should start walking to the bowling alley." Mai pointed out after Yasuhara had paid.

"You are right. If we get there a bit early, we could pick up some drinks for everyone. I really wouldn't mind a nice cold drink."

And so they set off once again. Mai still held onto Yasuhara's arm, but she wasn't clinging to it quite as tightly as before. The bowling alley was hidden behind a large department store. It's door looked old, but inside it was brightly lit and old music was playing.

Yasuhara strode up to the desk and gave his name.

"Ah yes, some members of your party are already here. I have set up a tab for you to pay at the end." The man behind the counter said. "Please can I take your shoes?" Mai and Yasuhara obliged and swapped their shoes.

Sitting inside the booth for Lane 8 was Masako, for once not dressed in a kimono but shorts and a t-shirt, and John.

"Hey!" John greeted them happily. "Monk will be here any second; he dropped us off before going and looking for parking."

"You look really pretty Mai." Masako said kindly. Mai thanked her with a quick hug.

"Yasuhara, could you do the laces up on these shoes for me?" She asked sweetly. Mai reckoned she could've managed them herself, but it was fun to get Yasuhara to do it. "You see I need to save the strength in my arms to beat you all at this game."

Yasuhara, encouraged by Mai's cheerfulness, bent down and helped Mai with her shoes. He suspected she was putting on a bit of an act, but her eyes did not look unhappy.

"So what teams are we going to have?" John asked.

"Wait, are we doing teams or individual?" Masako asked.

"I think teams would be best." Yasuhara said. "The losers can buy the winners lunch."

Before they could agree on who would be on what team, Lin, Madoka, Naru and Monk all arrived. Mai glared momentarily at Yasuhara for not warning her about Naru's presence. But Yasuhara just shrugged.

Once they were all in the ridiculous bowling shoes, the subject of teams arose once again. It was John who came up with the best idea.

"Short people versus tall people." John said. "Madoka, Mai, Masako and me against Lin, Monk, Yasuhara and Naru."

"You just want all the ladies John!" Yasuhara pointed out.

"You're just upset I don't want to look at your face." John teased back.

Mai and Masako laughed, it was nice to see John being a little less reserved.

"You wound me! I thought we had something John!" Yasuhara cried dramatically.

"Shut up you prat." Monk said, taking a seat at the console and starting to input names.

"Does anyone want a drink?" Yasuhara said. Everyone called their orders out at him and he wandered off the café.

Mai was watching Naru out of the corner of her eye. He was wearing black again. She didn't know if she wanted to say anything to him. Or rather, whether she ought to say anything.

"Hang on, we have an unfair advantage." Monk said.

"What?" Masako asked confused.

"Well Naru can use his PK again now. How do we know he's not cheating?" Monk asked, looking round at Naru. Mai looked up at this, since when could Naru use his PK? Wouldn't he faint?

"I don't need to use PK to beat them." Naru said, smirking. At that moment, Yasuhara returned with a tray of drinks and handed them all out.

And so they started bowling. Naru was as good as his word, but no one accused him of cheating, even though he was, sort of. He was helping Mai out every time she bowled. He realised early on she was not a competent player and had been guiding her balls to hit the pins. He never caused a strike, figuring that might raise suspicion, but he helped the short team slowly take the lead.

This lead was extended when he saw Yasuhara put an arm around Mai and hug her. After this, Naru decided Yasuhara did not need to hit quite so many pins. Naru knew this was jealously, plain and simple, but he didn't really care. He had avoided talking too much. He knew that cornering Mai right now was probably insensitive and so had settled for just watching her laugh with Masako, John and Madoka every time they scored.

Due to Naru's silent orchestrations, the short team won by 20 points, leaving the tall team to pick up the bill for lunch. When they returned their shoes, Naru pulled out the company card and paid for everyone using that.

"I hardly think this would count as a company expense." Lin said to Naru, trying not to smile.

"It was a company teamwork exercise." Naru said without emotion. He knew money couldn't solve any of his problems regarding how everyone viewed him right now, but he didn't want arguments over such a petty amount of money.

"And do you plan on paying for lunch with the company card too?" Lin asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Would you prefer to pay?" Naru turned to face him. "No? Well then the company can pay for lunch too."

**Author's note: I know this is a bit filler-y but I needed to put something up so it wasn't left on Chapter 13, which was horribly sad. Don't worry I think I have exhausted my ability to channel George RR Martin... Please review!**


	15. Chapter 15

After lunch, they all returned to the SPR office. Monk produced a pack of cards and Yasuhara, Masako, John, and Lin joined him in a few games. Mai merely watched from the side-line. Naru had retrieved a small pile of paper from his office and then sat reading in a chair in the corner of the room. Madoka and Ayako were quietly discussing something or rather. The office was quiet, but Mai liked it that way. It was peaceful.

Sometime later, Naru opened his mouth to speak and then shut it. He had been about to say 'Mai, tea' but thought it was inappropriate given the situation. Instead, he got up, leaving the paper on his chair and walked to the kitchen. Mai saw this and almost wanted to laugh; Naru was going to make his own tea.

"Soon as he won't offer any of you, would anyone like tea?" Mai offered. After taking orders, she followed Naru into the kitchen. He was waiting for the kettle to boil.

"Do you want me to do it?" Mai asked softly. Naru did not look around.

"Yes."

Mai added more water to the kettle to allow enough for everyone and then got out more cups.

"How much time do you wish to take off?" Naru asked, stony faced.

"I will come back to work on Monday if you want."

"Take as long as you need." Naru said. He still couldn't quite look at Mai. Was it guilt? "I want to ask you something." Mai froze beside him. "Would you permit me to perform psychometry in order to catch the killers?" Mai relaxed visibly, but did not respond for a moment. He needed to touch just a piece of her skin to perform psychometry, but would not do this without her consent.

"I gave descriptions to the police."

"The police are useless. The time taken to find Gene proved that." Naru said with no emotion. "I want them brought to justice."

"Why did you leave?" Mai asked, ignoring his request. Naru was momentarily startled.

"I was offered the chance to train in a new method of PK control. It was an opportunity I could not miss. As a result I can now use my PK again." Naru said. "I did not inform you of this before I left, because there was a good chance it would go wrong. If while trying to use large amounts of power, the new technique failed, there was a high probability of my death. I did not want you worrying and not focusing on your work."

"Then why did that night happen?" Mai asked with a frown appearing. "If you did not want me to worry, why only increase my hope of something real between us before you left."

This time, it was Naru who took a few moments to respond. Mai continued making the tea.

"Gene had always been ahead of me when it came to social relations. He had had sex before the age of 16 and obviously told me about it. At the time I had no interest in those things." He paused again, as if trying to think how to word what he wanted to say. "You were the only person I could see myself wanting to try such intimate things with. I thought I knew how you felt about Gene. I was facing the very tangible possibility of my own death in the coming months and I didn't want to go without having tried. So I offered to be him for you. It had been a shock to hear from your lips that you didn't want him, that you wanted me. That still perplexes me." Mai could see the confusion on his face and the expression looked wrong; alien to his handsome face. Naru did not continue. It was not the right time to ask how she felt about him now.

"I will think about it." Mai said, referring to his earlier request, and picked up the tray of teacups, leaving a singular cup for him. She left the kitchen and handed out the tea.

Naru remained in the kitchen, sipping at his drink. He had explained to Mai now. In a sick way, he was glad of a new mission; a new reason for motivation. Naru had three men to find and deal with. He hadn't decided if he would kill them. The thought had arrived in his mind late one night and he couldn't quite rid himself of the idea. He was unsure of the laws, did killing unborn children count as murder? Didn't they really just perform a sick form of abortion? Though that was illegal if not done by a registered practitioner. Or would their crimes just been grievous bodily harm to Mai in the eyes of the law?

The cup of tea did not last as long as he wanted it to, but he could not ask Mai to make him another. He felt wrong asking her to do anything. A little of her youth seemed to have escaped, Mai was acting older. Naru washed the cup out, then returned to his chair and continued reading. Occasionally, he looked up to check on Mai, who was now talking to Yasuhara.

"I think we ought to go food shopping tomorrow." Yasuhara was saying. "I know the supermarket will be packed, soon as it's a Saturday, but we really are running out of food."

Food. Naru also was running out of food. He briefly considered offering the pair a lift to the supermarket. Then returned to his reading, it was not his place.

"Who would be available for a case on Monday?" He asked a few minutes later. The piece of paper he was holding was a letter from a potential client. The case was at a hospital in southern Japan, strange events had been occurring in a ward usually occupied by mental health patients. Initially, the odd things were dismissed as nonsense from the patients. But when the nurses and doctors started experiencing the events too, they had emptied that wing of the hospital and written to SPR. Objects had been turned upside down, doors previously thought to be locked were found wide open and disturbances to the electricity supply had cut the lighting.

"I would be." Mai said first. She wanted a case and something to do.

"Mai, I don't expect you to come." Naru said.

"I want to." She said fiercely, and Naru nodded.

"Who else?" He asked. Everyone else confirmed they would be available. "Then we will leave at 9o'clock. I will brief you on Monday."

The following Sunday, Mai was sitting between the graves of her parents and her children. She was telling them all about the trip to the bowling alley, not noticing that she had a silent guardian.

Naru was watching her. He had chosen to visit the grave after Lin had told him its location, not knowing Mai was there too. Making up his mind, he walked slowly closer.

Mai heard the footsteps but did not look around. She somehow knew who it was without looking.

Naru cursed himself silently for not learning to read kanji. He could not read the names of his own children on the gravestone.

"Tell me about them." He said.

"Takeshi and Yasuo." She pointed at their names for his benefit. "Takeshi was a wriggly little sod. He was always moving about. Yasuo was calmer but never seemed to calm his brother down though. They both were good listeners, never once told me to shut up." Mai laughed softly through her tears. "Why are you here?"

"I wanted to see them." He said. "To apologise for not saving them, or their mother." He considered telling her that he had seen their deaths in a dream, but figured this might be too painful for her to hear.

"You don't need to apologise to me." Mai said. "I should have told you."

"You were angry at me; I should not have left you the way I did."

"How do you think of me now?" Mai asked. Tears were still running down her pale face. "Before you left, you said you wanted me, was that just purely physical? Or did you want there to be an 'us'?"

Naru did not how to say what he felt. It would be insensitive to suggest anything between them now. But they were both grieving the same loss, would it not be better to grieve together?

"I want to ease your pain." He said finally. "I never wanted you only in the physical sense, how could I be attracted to a woman if I had no respect for her brain. I know I teased you relentlessly for being idiotic, but only because it seemed to spur you to improve yourself. You picked up knowledge of supernatural phenomena like a sponge and although you didn't always get it right, you always tried to apply what you knew."

Mai wiped her eyes; she would have loved to hear these things only a few months ago. She would have been so happy to hear that he cared for her in his own way. But now? She felt bruised, physically and emotionally. A damaged puzzle piece that now would not fit into the puzzle that was normal life.

"Do you still want me?" Mai asked, still sat on the floor and unsure if she wanted to hear the answer. Unsure what she wanted the answer to be.

"Mai, I have cared for you for a long time and nothing has changed that. But I will not try and force you into something after the loss we have both just sustained." Naru hoped the questions would soon end, he felt uncomfortable talking about his emotions so much.

There was a silence. A long silence. Mai stood up finally and brushed the grass off her clothes.

"Who would you have picked as godparents?" She asked, still not looking at him, but at the graves. "If they had lived, who would you entrust them to?"

"Mai, accident prone as you are, I'm not sure I would have trusted you to hold them too long, let alone the other idiots we work with." He tried to inject humour into his voice, but wasn't confident he had managed it.

"As if you'd know what to do with a baby." Mai teased back, Naru could see her smiling. She bent down and kissed her fingers, then placed her fingers on each of the names on the gravestones, before walking away from the graves.

"I know exactly what to do with a baby." Naru declared, following her, glad the conversation had moved onto more jovial things. He would let her tease him just to see her happy.

"Oh really." Mai said disbelievingly, she waited for Naru to catch up and they walked together out of the graveyard. "So you know how to feed, bathe, clothe and hold a baby?"

"Of course." He waited, expecting her to question him. But she did not.

"I am glad you can use your PK again. I know it frustrated you." Mai said, then finally, she looked at him. "Will you show me the chopping routine you were telling me about before?"

"Are you inviting yourself for dinner?"

"You can come to mine, if you are willing to cook for Yasuhara as well, I have enough food." Mai suggested.

"Is he staying at your place still?"

"Jealous?" Mai teased. Naru swallowed his pride and replied.

"Maybe I am."

**Author's note: I keep getting reviews of how upset you all were after unlucky chapter 13! I'm sorry! I really really am! Anyway, please review! I would love to hear your thoughts, predictions and suggestions!**


	16. Chapter 16

In the end, they returned to Mai's apartment. Naru revealed that he was unsure of how much food he had in his fridge and Mai assured him she had enough.

Naru had parked his car just outside the graveyard. He drove them to Mai's apartment in silence. It wasn't until they arrived and Mai was looking for her key that she spoke.

"Um, you should let me go in first. Yasuhara has a habit of walking around in his boxers."

Naru raised an eyebrow at her and she blushed.

"It's not like that." She located her key and let them in. Fortunately, Yasuhara was clothed and watching TV. "Hey! We have company." Mai said, indicating Naru behind her.

"Hello Boss." Yasuhara said cheerily. Naru only nodded at him.

"Naru is going to cook for us." Mai said, dumping her bag down and joining Yasuhara on the sofa. "Food is in the fridge and the cupboard above the sink." Mai said to Naru, pointing behind the sofa to the kitchen area. But to her surprise, Naru sat down in a chair. "Aren't you going to…" Mai started, but looked around at look Naru was giving her.

In her kitchen, food was being chopped and cooked seemingly of its own accord. Naru smirked at the look of wonder on Mai's face.

"Show off." She muttered. "Yasuhara what are you even watching?"

"Nothing really. Here, you pick something." He passed her the remote. Mai flicked through the channels and eventually settled on something. They all watched the program in silence.

"Food will be ready in a few minutes." Naru said. He got up from the chair and walked into the kitchen area. The food was still preparing itself, plates were setting themselves on the table and Naru was tasting what he'd cooked.

He plated up the food when it was ready and chopsticks flew out of a drawer.

"The food is ready." He said, sitting at the table. Yasuhara turned off the TV and they joined him at the table. Mai smiled down at the food and started eating. However, Yasuhara seemed to be having an issue with his chopsticks.

Whenever he went to pick up some noodles, instead of pinching together, the chopsticks went flying past each other and flicked sauce in his face. Mai started to laugh, making Naru up.

"Are you alright?" Mai asked Yasuhara.

"They just aren't working!" He pouted at the utensils in his hands.

"Surely you aren't so incompetent that you can't use chopsticks?" Naru said, smirking. "I mean if Mai can manage them…"

"I can use chopsticks perfectly well." Yasuhara almost growled. "I want another pair."

Naru set another pair to float out of the drawer to him. Yasuhara managed three mouthfuls of food before the new chopsticks started to fly past each other.

"Naru stop it." Mai said.

"Stop what?" He asked innocently.

"Let him eat."

"You're suggesting I was doing that to him?"

"I know you are doing it to him." Mai stared at him pointedly. Naru smirked, but stopped the chopstick antics. Yasuhara watched the pair of them, before hurriedly eating his food. Hoping to finish before something else happened.

"What are our plans for the evening?" Yasuhara asked Mai after he finished eating.

"I don't know." Mai turned to Naru. "Are you leaving?"

"I have no where I need to be." He said, using PK to take the dishes to the kitchen and start washing them up. He loved being able to use his PK. Especially in front of Mai, not that he was showing off.

"You were going to teach me how to play that card game." Mai said accusingly to Yasuhara.

"Gin rummy." Yasuhara nodded. "Care to join us?" He added to Naru.

"Where are the cards?" Naru asked, smirking. It wasn't that he was trying to think of ways to use his PK, but the opportunities just seemed to rise up in front of him and he wasn't fool enough not to grasp them.

"I'll get them." Mai jumped up and ran to her bedroom. She returned a minute later with a battered pack of cards. Naru used his PK to take them from her hands and started shuffling them impressively. He smirked at the childish amazement on Mai's face before noticing the smirk on Yasuhara's face and scowled.

Yasuhara began explaining the rules to Mai, while Naru moved the cards in demonstration. Yasuhara couldn't help but be impressed by Naru's control and skill with his PK. He was also rather amused by how Naru was trying to impress Mai with his powers.

When Mai thought she'd got the grasp of the game, Naru dealt and they started playing. They played mostly in silence until Mai thought of question.

"Can you fly?" She asked Naru, in a deadly serious voice. Yasuhara laughed.

"He's not Superman."

"Surely he can use PK to move himself into the air though?"

"Everything I move is in reference to myself, so in order to fly, I would have to move the entire earth away from me." Naru said, as if this was obvious. He had, in fact, tried this when he was younger, much to Gene's amusement.

"Oh…" Mai looked back to her cards. "That's a shame, that'd be really cool." Naru glared at her, was everything else he could do not 'cool'? "Can you not move the entire earth?"

"Not without potentially upsetting the earth's orbit and potentially sending the planet spiralling into the sun." Naru said. As if he was going to admit he had a limit. He was banking on Mai's limited knowledge of physics that such a relatively small change in the earth's orbit wouldn't really make a difference.

"But can't you hold the earth out of the sun?" Mai knew she was winding Naru up, but she kept her face innocently questioning. It was too much fun. "And that little a change in the earth's orbit would make no difference, the orbit changes a little all the time anyway. Didn't you know that?" Mai watched joyfully at the look of shock on Naru's face. She remembered that much from high school physics. His face showed actual shock. "Are you alright?"

"Just shocked you remember something so technical." Naru shot back at her, rearranging his face.

"So you can't move the earth then?" Mai retorted immediately, ignoring his insult.

Naru just glared at her. Yasuhara was watching the exchange like a tennis match, flicking his head back and forth. He couldn't help but think it was match point to Mai.

"Well?" Mai prompted.

"No." Naru continued to glare.

"Oh, and rummy." Mai placed down the last of her cards. She had won by far.

Game, set and match to Mai. Yasuhara laughed. He liked to see Mai get one over Naru.

"Are you alright Boss?" Yasuhara asked.

"He's fine, just hates admitting that he has limitations." Mai teased. "Do you think you can deal again?" She asked patronisingly to Naru. "I'll go and make tea for us all." Naru smiled back at her, a plan forming in his head.

He started to shuffle the cards together using PK, and then when Mai was in the middle of making the tea he used his ability to do something else. He heard a squeal from the kitchen.

"You didn't!" Mai put the cup she was holding down and glared at Naru. She seemed to try and scratch her back with both her hands. "You little sod." And she ran off to her bedroom.

"What did you do?" Yasuhara asked.

"Undid her bra." Naru smirked. "Women get so touchy about it." He reminisced about when he used to do it to women when he was younger to amuse Gene; especially the nastier of the workers at the orphanage after they'd been particularly cruel. They never guessed it was him doing it. None of them believed in such powers.

Mai came back in and pouted at Naru, which only made him smirk more.

"Jerk."

"Idiot."

"Young love eh?" Yasuhara received two glares for his comment, and quickly shut up.

"You should be happy that I didn't do more." Naru said. "I could embarrass you further."

"Do that and I'll tell everyone how small your penis really is." Mai was not going to let him win. "And as the only person in the group, apart from you, who has seen it, I think they'd believe me."

"Hey, it's not what you've got; it's how you use it." Yasuhara said defensively and Mai laughed at him. "Now children, play nicely."

"He started it." Mai pouted.

They continued to play in near silence until late in the evening, when Naru said he ought to go home.

Mai walked him to the door and thanked him for cooking and washing up.

"My pleasure." Naru smiled down at Mai. "I expect you on time tomorrow."

"Won't be a problem, Yasuhara is an early bird."

"Thank you for a lovely evening." He said, then bent down and kissed her on the cheek. He ignored Yasuhara's snigger from inside Mai's flat. "Goodnight." And he left before Mai could say anything else.

She stared after him for a moment, then shut the door and headed for bed. It had been an odd day.

**Author's note: I really hope you find this as funny to read as I found it to write! Anyway, had a few nice chapters now. The case starts next chapter and I think something needs to go wrong... Please review!**


	17. Chapter 17

As usual on cases, Naru was first to the office in the morning, accompanied by Lin and Madoka. He was tired. Although he'd got home early enough for plenty of sleep, he just seemed unable to drift off. To counter this, he decided to work out, as that usually tired him out enough to be physically exhausted for sleep. It had only been halfway through the workout that he realised that he would no longer need to exercise. His could use PK for everything now. But somehow this did not make him happy. The exercise made him feel good, both about his physical appearance and from the endorphin rush. In the end, he decided he would continue working out.

Much to Naru's surprise, it was Mai and Yasuhara who arrived next. He did not say anything, but raised an eyebrow.

"I told you he was an early riser." Mai muttered and Naru smirked.

John and Masako arrived a few minutes later, and not long after that Ayako arrived alone.

"Where is Monk?" Mai asked.

"He is unable to join us." She said, not meeting anyone's eye. "He apologises but something came up."

"Fine." Naru said, unconcerned. "Let's go." He joined Lin and Madoka in the van, while Mai, Yasuhara, John and Masako were to Ayako in her car.

"Are you alright Ayako?" Mai asked. Ayako's eyes, upon closer inspection, looked a little red. Ayako waited until Yasuhara, John and Masako had climbed into the car before she responded, so that only Mai would hear.

"He asked my father for permission to us to… But my father said no." She looked like she was going to cry again.

"Oh Ayako!" Mai embraced the older woman.

"I'm fine. I knew that he would say but I hoped my happiness would override his stupid pride." Ayako sounded almost angry. "Come on, we better get going."

"It'll be alright." Mai consoled lamely.

"I will be, I just hope Monk is."

They set off, following the van out of the city. Naru contacted her car via the walkie-talkies and gave the lowdown on the case. The west wing at the hospital they were visiting had experienced odd events. The example given in the letter said that all the furniture had been turned upside down in the day room for the long term mental health patients. Initially they thought it had been the patients messing around, even though everyone present had denied it. Then locked rooms were found unlocked, with nothing missing. Finally when the lights started flickering, for no apparent reason, and scared the patients, the Doctor in charge of the ward called in SPR.

"We will be meeting Dr Takami when we arrive." Naru finished.

In the car, which was unusually silent, Mai was staring out of the window. She would be away from her children for at least a week. She felt guilty for leaving them for so long. Shouldn't she still be too full of grief to function? Was she that heartless?

"Okay Boss!" Yasuhara said cheerfully from the backseat and then switched the walkie-talkie off. "You know I'm surprised we haven't had a hospital case before now."

"I'm glad we haven't." Masako said. "Hospitals are full of pained spirits."

"And I would hate to bring my part time work to my real job." Ayako said. She seemed to have calmed down now, even if she wasn't quite back to her normal self.

"Hospitals are creepy though." Mai agreed. "And the section we are going to be in is going to be empty and that will make it creepier."

"Mai, you work as a paranormal investigator." Yasuhara pointed out.

"Doesn't make any of it less creepy." Mai said and Yasuhara laughed. "I have spent enough time in hospital recently to know all the creepy sounds you hear at night when it's dark and you're alone. And it is not like at home where you can check everything. Anyone can just walk into a hospital and do anything!" Mai elaborated, Yasuhara fell silent.

"I will have to admit the night shift is not fun." Ayako agreed. "When I was training I had to do it a few times and every noise seems amplified." Mai nodded.

"Do you think we will be sleeping in a ward?" John asked after a few minutes silence.

"Most likely. I doubt the hospital would pay for a hotel and Naru will want to be on the scene." Ayako said.

"I'll check." Yasuhara turned the walkie-talkie back on. "Sexiest man alive to Boss, do you read me?" The other occupants of the car laughed.

"Yasuhara don't flatter yourself." Naru's voice crackled through the speaker. "What do you want?"

"Are we sleeping in hospital wards?"

"The west wing has been completely emptied, I'm sure we will find somewhere in the entire wing to sleep. I believe there are several wards available."

"Right, thanks Boss." Yasuhara turned the device off.

They continued in silence.

Mai expected the hospital to look old, crumbling and creepy; when they arrived she was surprised to see a bright, relatively modern building.

A very old man, who Mai guessed to be Dr Takami, was waiting for them. His face was lined with wrinkles and his hair was white with age. Mai waited, expecting to hear Monk say something like 'he looks almost as old as you Ayako' and for Ayako to whack him on the arm and a squabble to ensue. But then she remembered Monk was at home.

Once Mai had grabbed her bags from the boot of the car, Ayako was introducing herself to Dr Takami and seemed to be reassuring him that their team would be considerate of hospital protocol. Mai supposed it made sense for her to say this, as she was a doctor too. Besides, Naru seemed more interested in the building behind the old doctor.

"Yasuhara, Lin, John and I will bring in the equipment." Naru said. "Dr Takami, can you leave us to the base. Mai and Madoka, will you set up the monitors as we bring them in. Masako and Ayako, could you go for a walk and see what you can find."

Mai picked up Yasuhara's night bag along with her own as he went off to pick up some of the heavier equipment.

"Most of the activity seems focused on the top floor. That's where the long term patients sleep. The rest of the strange things are on the 6th floor, in the day room areas." Dr Takami was telling them as they walked in. "I suggest you set up your base in the staff room on the 6th floor, nothing has occurred there, but it's close to the action so to speak."

"Thank you." Mai answered, knowing Naru wouldn't bother. "Where would be best for us to sleep?"

"There are wards on the 6th and 7th floors, but I doubt you want to sleep there, the rooms on the 5th floor are all free, so take your pick."

"Excellent." Mai beamed up at him.

"You can get food in the hospital canteen if you so wish, but if you want my honest opinion, you would be better off buying some elsewhere and using the facilities in the staff room to cook. Off the record, the canteen food is awful." He spoke so quietly, he was almost whispering. "There is a supermarket not far from here."

"Yes, I think we passed it. Thank you Dr Takami."

"Here we are." He held open the door for them all to pass. "Please call this number if you need me, I am currently on call so will be on hospital grounds all week." He passed a card to Mai, she read the phone number scribbled on it.

"Thank you so much." Mai said and he left. "Naru do you want this?" She indicated the card.

"Pin it on the noticeboard." Naru pointed to a blank board on the side of the staffroom wall. The room was spacious, with plenty of tables for their equipment and a small kitchen area on one side. "Get to work everyone."

Mai watched the men leave and then turned to the woman.

"Why isn't Naru just bringing the stuff up with PK?" She asked the room in general.

"He's probably forgotten he can use it." Madoka said. "Or he doesn't want other people seeing it."

"The latter I think, he is still using an alias, so I doubt he wants anyone else to know the extent of his powers." Masako said from behind her sleeve. "Come on Ayako." The two women left the staff room.

"So what's wrong with Ayako?" Madoka asked. "Why isn't Monk with us?"

"He asked Ayako's father for permission to marry, but her father said no."

"Damn. No wonder she's upset." Madoka started plugging in cables.

"It's weird not having Monk here." Mai mused as she too started to plug the monitors into the power supply.

The men brought up the rest of the equipment and piled it in the centre of the staff room.

"We'll wait for Masako to return before we set up the cameras." Naru said. "Mai, tea, I will finish setting up the monitors."

Mai sighed; she had wondered how long it would be before he had demanded tea. Nevertheless, she stopped what she was doing and moved into the kitchen after taking out the pack of tea she had in her overnight bag.

When the tea was ready, Masako and Ayako returned. Mai handed out the cups and they all sat, waiting to hear what Masako had to say.

"There are a lot of spirits here." She said, after a sip of tea. "Most seem harmless, just lost. But some seem lost and angry. It's hard to tell due to the sheer numbers."

"I am going to place wards around the base and sleeping areas, so Masako has some peace." Ayako said, taking her own cup of tea to an empty table, she grabbed her bag and started making protection charms.

"Are there any areas we should focus on?" Naru asked.

"The day room; and the individual bedrooms on the far end of the 7th floor." Masako said.

"Right, let's get the cameras set up." Naru said to the group. "Mai could you take measurements, I want a floor plan."

"The hospital should have one." Ayako said from her table.

"The doctor told me that finding a copy would take too long." Naru said, obviously annoyed. "John, will you help Mai?" John nodded and smiled at Mai. "Masako, stay here and help Madoka connect the cameras to the monitors, at least until Ayako has finished the charms."

"Thank you." Masako said.

Naru downed the rest of his tea and left the cup on the table, then grabbed a camera in one arm and headed out the door. Lin and Yasuhara followed suit.

"Come on then John." Mai grabbed a tape measure and a notepad. John picked up the spirit level and together they left the room.

They started to take measurements and checking that the floors were all level in silence, bar reading out the numbers they'd obtained.

"You know I am slightly surprised you never gave me the 'you shouldn't have sex before marriage' talk." Mai said after a while. John looked up.

"I may be a catholic priest, Mai, but I would not force my beliefs on others. Besides it's not like you used protection, which is in line with catholic teachings, and you and Naru argue like an old married couple anyway." Mai laughed.

"Is everything shaping up so far?" Mai asked, walking towards John and the diagram they were drawing.

"I think so." John said. "Nothing obviously abnormal anyway."

"I didn't mean to upset you, with what I said before. Thank you for being so kind." Mai said quietly.

"It's quite alright Mai. I understand that grief sometimes make people say things that they wouldn't usually mean."

Mai hugged the young man quickly.

"Come on; let's get back to the base with this." John said, smiling at Mai.

As they walked through the base door, Mai could see the relief on Masako's face. The charms were obviously up and working.

"All the cameras are now functioning." Lin said, from his usual position in front of the monitor.

"There is nothing we can do until we get some activity." Naru said. "Mai, tea. I will take the overnight bags to the rooms Ayako has protected."

"I'll help." John said.

"No need, no one is around, I can take them all." Naru said and the bags floated up behind him.

As soon as Naru left the base, Yasuhara started talking loudly. He had been bursting to relay the story of the previous night.

Mai listened while she made tea. Yasuhara was telling everyone in great detail how she had got one over on Naru, much to the amusement of the rest of the SPR gang.

"… and then she said that if he tried to embarrass her with PK she'd tell all of us exactly how small his penis is." Yasuhara said, barely containing his own laughter. "You should have seen his face!" He let his own laughter subside. "So how small is his penis Mai?" Yasuhara asked, as Naru walked back through the door.

"I really don't think that is relevant Yasuhara, and note Mai said never said anything about revealing information if I embarrassed you." Naru said coldly. "Your flies are undone, by the way."

Yasuhara quickly looked down to check, but his flies were not undone. Naru smirked and now the others laughed at Yasuhara.

"Play nicely boys." Mai said, handing Naru a cup of tea. Then she grabbed her own book, a summer reading book for her English class and settled in a chair to read. Slowly, everyone settled into their own activities. Masako, John and Yasuhara were playing cards, Ayako was reading a medical journal, and Lin and Madoka were discussing something that sounded like politics. But it was Naru that caught Mai's attention; he seemed to be reading a high school Japanese book.

"I thought Japanese was your mother tongue." She asked him.

"It is." He replied curtly.

"So why are you reading that?"

"Because I am bored of being unable to read kanji." He replied. "It really is a stupid concept."

"It's really quite satisfying to know I can do something better than you." Mai teased.

"Yes, your tea is excellent." Naru said, not looking up from his book.

"I meant reading kanji." Mai said.

"I hardly view learning great lists of symbols as a useful use of your time, but I suppose you have to take what you can get." He said condescendingly. Mai scowled at him. "What are you reading now?" He asked.

"Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone." Mai said, trying not to stumble over the 'r' and 'l' sounds.

"How are you finding it?" He asked, almost conversationally.

"It's a bit tougher than Pride and Prejudice. I keep thinking words the author has made up are English words I should know, before realising they are terms made just for this new world." Mai admitted. "But otherwise I am enjoying it. We have to write a review of it in English over the summer break."

"I had to do something similar for my GCSE English literature." Naru said.

"Your what?"

"GCSE in English literature. GCSEs are exams usually taken at the age of 15 or 16 in England. It stands for General Certificate of Secondary Education." Said Naru in a bored voice.

"And I suppose you sat them age 12 or whatever."

"10." Naru corrected, Mai laughed and turned back to her book. "I would have sat them sooner, only my mother wanted Gene and me to attend school like normal children. It took me a year to convince her that it wasn't worth it. I wouldn't have bothered with the examinations at all, but my mother wanted us to have something to fall back on."

"What was your favourite subject?" Mai asked. She liked hearing about Naru's past.

"Physics. Gene preferred chemistry though, he liked to know what to mix together to make things explode." Naru turned a page. "What would you've studied, if you'd gone to university?" He asked Mai.

"I don't know, I tried not to think about, soon as I knew I could not afford it." Mai paused. "If you'd asked me when I was at school, I would have said history as I enjoyed that the most. Now I am working for SPR, I don't want to leave this field."

"You'd choose to study parapsychology?"

"No point, I am learning on the job." Mai said and then returned to her book. Naru did not ask anything else, and so they sat in silence, reading together.

None of the monitors gave any hint of supernatural activity by 5 o'clock when Lin declared that he was hungry.

"I think I will go and pick up some food for everyone." Lin said and Madoka stood up too. Mai had had enough of her book, she was enjoying reading it but concentrating on it for so long was tiring.

"May I join your card game?" She asked Yasuhara. Ayako too had put her medical journal down. Yasuhara nodded.

"At the end of this game, I will deal you both in." He said, concentrating on the cards in his hand. "Boss, are you joining us?"

Naru looked up, saw Mai's hopeful face and agreed. When Yasuhara offered the cards to him to shuffle, he obliged with a fanciful display of showmanship with his PK. He had been tempted to use this as an opportunity to set the cards in an order that suited him. But somehow this seems unsporting, so he didn't.

They played game after game noisily while they waited for Lin and Madoka to return.

"What on earth is taking them so long?" Ayako complained.

"You don't think they've parked up somewhere and are having some alone time…" Yasuhara said suggestively.

"They wouldn't do it in the van." Naru said.

"Really? I would've thought it'd be an ideal place to…" Yasuhara said.

"I caught them starting things in the van once and threatened to tell my father." Naru said. "They wouldn't do anything in the van." The others laughed.

Before the discussion went any further, a beeping came from one of the monitors. John, who was closest, got up and inspected the screen.

"The temperature is dropping in the day room."

**Author's note: I am so glad some of you found chapter 16 funny! I know this chapter is a bit filler-y but the case is just starting! Please review! **


	18. Chapter 18

"Is anything showing on the camera?" Naru asked as he rose from his seat. The others all followed, crowding around the monitor.

"Nothing yet." John said. Then the monitor went black. Then flicked back on, a table had been turned over. Then it when black again and on again, another table had been turned over. The process repeated, the screen flashing on and off. Each time a new item had been turned. Each flash was quicker than its predecessor.

"Should we do something?" John asked.

"Not yet." Naru said and the flashes stopped. Everything in the room had been turned upside down. The temperature was returning to normal. Collectively, everyone exhaled. It was over.

Then there was a loud rumbling sound. Mai, Masako and Ayako spun on the spot, expecting to see something behind them but-

"Sorry, just my stomach!" Yasuhara smiled guiltily. "I'm hungry!"

"Ayako, phone Madoka and find out what is keeping her and Lin. Masako, come with me, I want to look around the day room." Naru said, and left with Masako in his wake.

Ayako grabbed her phone and started dialling, when Naru stuck his head back through the door.

"Mai, try and sleep, your dreams might help." He said and then left again. Mai nodded, not that Naru saw, and headed over to the sofa. Yasuhara threw a hoodie at her.

"Use it as a pillow." He said kindly.

"Thanks." Mai said. She lay down and rested her head on the folded hoodie. Mai closed her eyes, and willed herself to astral project, but Ayako's pacing was distracting.

"They aren't picking up." She was saying. "This is the third time I've called. It keeps going to voicemail."

"I'm sure they are fine." John said. "Maybe her mobile has just run out of battery."

Ayako walked over to the window and looked down at the parked cars.

"Anything?" Yasuhara asked.

"No." Ayako said glumly.

Mai tried to relax again, willing herself to see something of use.

"Hello Mai. Long-time no see!" It was Gene. She sat up in the dream world and looked around. Everything was black bar the bright floating lights and Gene.

"Hello Gene." Mai said. "Got anything of use?"

"Not really. The guy won't let me anywhere near him." Gene muttered, obviously annoyed.

"Why?"

"Mai, this ward held mental health patients. He thinks I am a delusion and is trying very hard to ignore me." Gene said. "I mean, you've got to admit, this place does look a bit trippy. I don't blame him."

"A delusion." Mai said.

"Yes, I think he might be Schizophrenic, but you should check the definition with Ayako. Maybe look through old records. I will try and get through to him, but it may take some time."

"Did he flip everything in the day room?"

"I think so. I don't know why thought. I'm not sure if mental health conditions stay with the sufferer into the afterlife." Gene looked thoughtful. "I'm sorry about the twins." He said after a few minutes silence. Mai didn't say anything. "Masako was right, they moved on with no problems. Babies always do, they have no reason to reject the warmth and the light." He put an arm around Mai's shoulders. She could feel tears running silently down her face.

"Naru wants to avenge their deaths." She whispered.

"Noll would. A part of him is still set on finding the person who killed me." Gene said. "Do you not want him to find the thugs?"

"I don't want him to do something stupid." Mai said. "If he found them, what do you think he would do? Especially now he can use his PK again." Gene did not answer. "He may appear calm on the outside, but he's not. He's full of anger and feelings he doesn't know how to deal with."

"Look after him, won't you?" Gene asked.

"I will try." Mai replied and returned to her own body.

Her face was wet; her body had cried real tears when she had while projecting. When she opened her eyes, Naru was glaring at her.

"What did you see? And why are you crying?" He demanded.

"You try looking at Gene's ugly face for so long, it's painful." Mai said, sitting up in the full knowledge she was insulting Naru too. Yasuhara sniggered from the kitchen.

"What did he tell you?" Naru ignored her comment.

"The spirit won't let him near, reckons Gene is a delusion." Mai summarised.

"That would explain the confusion I felt." Masako said. "He doesn't know what to believe."

At that moment, Lin and Madoka burst in through the doors holding bags of food.

"The supermarket had shut, so we tried to find somewhere else but there wasn't anywhere and then we got lost and then we just picked up takeaway instead." Madoka blurted out.

"You were over three hours." Ayako pointed out.

"Very lost." Lin said and started handing out the takeaway. "The supermarket opens at 8am tomorrow, so I will go and get us breakfast then."

Mai gratefully took her food and started eating, she still felt like she might continue crying at any point. She could feel Naru's eyes on her, but did not look up. She knew her excuse as to why she'd been crying had not been accepted by him.

"I'm going to go to bed, unless I am needed." Ayako said, as she finished her meal. When Naru did not reply, she picked up her medical journal and left the staff room. Mai finished her food quickly, she was concerned about Ayako and worrying about someone else enabled her to ignore her own pain. Mai threw the empty container in the bin and left the room leaving no explanation.

She found Ayako in the second hospital ward on the 5th floor, where all the girls' overnight bags had been dumped. Ayako was crying and staring out of the window at the darkening sky.

"He won't answer my calls." She said, not looking round as Mai closed the door behind her. "I tried calling him so many times."

"He's probably just upset." Mai said.

"But I'm upset." Ayako said. "I want to talk to him. Tell him that it doesn't matter. We don't have to get married; that I would still love him regardless. We don't need a piece of paper."

"But he knew you wanted to get married, that you wanted a big fancy wedding and a beautiful dress. And he has just been told he's not good enough for you." Mai said. "I imagine he feels very guilty."

"Then we could elope. John would perform a ceremony for us. I earn enough to pay for things. Why do we need permission from my father?" Ayako couldn't keep the desperation from her voice. Mai hated seeing her so vulnerable and so unlike herself. Mai sat herself down on the bed opposite Ayako and joined her in staring out of the window. "You were going to be my maid of honour." Ayako said. "Monk wanted Yasuhara as best man, reckoned he'd throw the best stag do." Mai laughed softly. "You were all going to have gold kimonos. I had it all sorted in my head. We would have had the ceremony next spring, just as the flowers were blooming." Ayako paused. "I'd even planned on little suits for your twins before they…" Ayako started sobbing in earnest. Mai jumped up from her bed and pulled Ayako into a hug. "It's all my fault! I shouldn't have left you alone!" She cried into Mai's chest, enveloped in Mai's arms.

"Ayako, there was nothing you could've done." Mai whispered.

"If I'd got there sooner! I could have saved them! I'm a doctor! I am supposed to save people! Make everything better!"

"Ayako!" Mai said loudly, grasping the woman by the shoulders. "Ayako! There was nothing you could have done. Those bastards will pay for what they did, but you cannot blame yourself." Mai glared fiercely at her. "Now pull yourself together. Why on earth are you letting this get to you? Where is the strong woman I know?!" Ayako stopped crying. "Now take a deep breath. We can fix the situation with Monk, you two will be happy together. My twins are gone, they are safe and I do not blame you for it." Ayako nodded, breathing heavily. Then she hugged Mai tightly.

"I'm sorry." She whispered. "You're right. I can't fall apart."

"Good, now I am going to phone Monk." Mai retrieved her phone from her bag and started to dial. He picked up after a few rings. "Why are you ignoring Ayako?" Mai said, but did not wait for an answer. "I don't give a shit what her father said. He's a stubborn old idiot. Now for fuck's sake, phone Ayako. She still loves you and if you don't start treating her like you love her, I won't try and sort this situation out." Mai paused, obviously listening to Monk on the other end. "I don't care that he says your job isn't good enough and neither does Ayako. You are the one she wants, now phone her." She hung up.

"How can you sort it out?" Ayako said quietly. Mai looked up.

"Easily." She replied. "Your father is worried that Monk will not be able to provide for you right? As being in a band is not a stable income."

"Yes." Ayako nodded.

"Well Monk also has a part time job here correct?" Mai pointed out.

"A part time job won't convince him."

"What about a promise that the part time job can become a full time job whenever it's needed?" Mai said.

"Naru would never agree to that." Ayako said.

"He doesn't need to, though I don't see why he wouldn't, he just needs to tell your father that." Mai said. "I can persuade Naru to talk to your father. Would that be enough?"

"I don't know." Ayako said. Then the phone started vibrating in her hand.

"Think about it." Mai said, and left the room. She returned upstairs.

"Mai, tea." Naru said, as she entered the staff room.

"It is an hour before you should be sleeping, you shouldn't have caffeine before bed." Mai said flatly.

"The subject wasn't open to debate." Naru said. He was reading the textbook again and scribbling on a piece of paper. Mai guessed he was testing himself on the kanji.

Rolling her eyes, she made him a cup of tea, knowing there was no point arguing. It was only as she was about to hand him the cup that she noticed how he was drawing the characters.

"You are doing that wrong." She pointed out.

"If the character appears on the paper, how can it be incorrect?" He muttered, snatching the cup from her.

"There is a set order to the strokes; it makes it easier to draw many of them one after the other." Mai explained, slightly amused. "Do you want me to show you?" But he didn't respond. Mai snatched the pencil out of his hand and looked down at the last symbol he had drawn. "Right, you have to go across first and then down; starting at the top." She said, demonstrating. Naru watched, then took the pencil back off of her, and copied what she had done. "Good." He continued writing out the characters. Mai watched him for a minute; impressed with his neatness.

"Mai don't stare." He said. "You'll start crying again."

"What?" Mai asked, completely confused.

"Well supposedly, my face is so ugly; it brought you to tears earlier." He said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. Mai realised what he meant.

"You're right; I'd rather look at Yasuhara." She said, wanting to avoid a discussion about why she'd really been crying. Mai went and sat down next to Yasuhara, who was once again playing cards with John and Masako. Then deciding she wouldn't mind annoying Naru some more, she put her feet up on the sofa and leant her head on Yasuhara's shoulder. He smiled down at her, and showed her his cards.

"What do you reckon?" He asked.

"That one." Mai said, she'd glanced briefly at the game and made her choice from his cards.

"Thanks." Yasuhara pulled out the card Mai had chosen and placed it down on the pile. Then deciding that Naru wasn't glaring at him quite enough, he kissed the top of Mai's head. Yasuhara liked Mai a lot, and maybe if things had been different, he would have asked her out. But he knew that she and Naru were made for each other. That being said, he liked winding the pair of them up and he knew showing affection for Mai would thoroughly piss Naru off. Besides, he hadn't got his boss back for the chopstick incident.

"How about we play hearts after this game?" John said. "Now we have four players?" He indicated Mai.

"I don't know how to play, you three keep playing." Mai said, stifling a yawn. It was getting late; she wanted to go to bed, but not yet. She would let Ayako have a little longer talking to Monk. Mai closed her eyes, listening to Yasuhara and the others play their card game and slowly she drifted off.

"Mai's fallen asleep, hasn't she?" Yasuhara said quietly, when they finished playing. He couldn't see her face, but could tell from her slow rhythmic breathing.

"Yes." John said. "Wake her up, so we can all get to bed."

"No, it is okay, I can carry her." Yasuhara said. He'd had to do it a few times while staying at Mai's apartment when she had fallen asleep while watching a film. Carefully, he wrapped her arms around her back and under her knees and picked her up. He could feel Naru's eyes on his back, but did not look around.

The door opened by itself when he reached it.

"Thanks Boss." He said and then took Mai to the girls' room.

Mai knew she was dreaming, but the hospital felt all too real. She was slumped in a chair and didn't seem to be able to move much. Nurses were talking to her every now and then, but their voices were far away.

A nagging feeling at the back of her brain told her something was wrong. She tried to get up, but her body was slow to respond. Eventually she struggled to her feet and a nurse rushed over, gabbling at her. But the words were still nonsense.

"I shouldn't be here." Mai heard her mouth say. She could see the nurse replying, but nothing connected. Starting towards the door, she felt hands pushing her back. "But they've forgotten me." She reached for the door and then felt a pain in her arm. Mai vaguely registered the needle when her vision went black.

The next morning was dull. The sun couldn't be seen and the clouds were threatening rain.

"Mai! Mai wake up!" Masako was poking her. Mai opened her eyes to see Masako still in her pyjamas. "Look! I didn't get kidnapped this time!" Masako joked. Mai laughed and smiled back at her friend.

"Shame, I liked not being the danger magnet for once." Mai said.

"But you're so good at it!" Ayako laughed from the doorway. She was already dressed and was brushing her hair. "The showers are awful by the way. You either get a warm dribble or a cold blast."

"I can't wait." Masako said, picking up her wash bag.

"Don't get kidnapped in the shower!" Mai shouted after her as she left. The showers were at the end of the hallway. "How early is it? Where's Madoka?"

"8 o'clock. She and Lin have gone to get breakfast." Ayako replied. "John went with them on Naru's orders, to prevent them 'getting lost'."

"You don't think they were…" Mai trailed off.

"No idea." Ayako admired her reflection in the mirror. "Not something I want to think about."

Mai climbed out of bed and stretched. She grabbed her own wash bag and headed for the showers. Ayako had been right, the showers were somewhat pathetic. In the end, she decided on a quick cold shower would have to suffice. Shivering, she left the shower wrapped in a towel and headed back to the girls' room.

When she was dressed, Mai headed up to the staff room and began making tea. Lin and Madoka were cooking breakfast. Masako and John were discussing the weather, Ayako was reading her medical journal again, and Naru and Yasuhara were yet to have arrived. Mai handed out the cups of tea and then sat next to Ayako.

"What are the symptoms of a schizophrenic?" Mai asked. Ayako looked up from what she was reading.

"It depends really; paranoia, delusions, hearing voices and confused thoughts. Commonly confused with split personality disorders, although I have no clue why as they are completely different things. Why?"

"Gene was trying to diagnose what the spirit has. He said the spirit was convinced Gene was a delusion and wouldn't let him near." Mai said.

"It could be schizophrenia." Ayako said. "Do you think we should check medical records?"

"I don't think it would hurt and it would give us something to do." Mai said, sipping at her tea.

"Grubs up!" Madoka called cheerfully and they collected their breakfast. As Mai began to eat, Naru and Yasuhara finally joined them.

"Yasuhara, fancy doing some research with me?" Mai asked between mouthfuls.

"I fancy doing a lot of things with you Mai, but I'll settle for research." Yasuhara said, making Mai blush. She knew he didn't mean it, but she still couldn't prevent the blood rushing to her cheeks.

"Mai, I was under the impression I was the boss." Naru said.

"Well I had an idea on where to start to find who the spirit is and I figured Yasuhara would be the best person to ask for help." Mai said, not looking at Naru. She knew he was glaring at her. "Gene reckoned he might be schizophrenic, I was thinking we could search old patient records."

"Fine." Naru said.

So once they had finished eating, Mai and Yasuhara went in search of Dr Takami's office. Once they found it, they explained what they wanted and he allowed them to use his PC to access the old records.

"There are a lot of dead schizophrenic patients." Yasuhara said, after typing in the criteria.

"Narrow it to those that died in this hospital." Mai said. Yasuhara complied.

"Still a lot of people. You thought the spirit was male?" Mai nodded and Yasuhara added that to the search criteria. "Down to about 30 people."

"We need more information." Mai said. "We should get back to the base, if we can find out more; perhaps we could get him to move on peacefully." Yasuhara agreed, they thanked the doctor and started back to the staff room.

"You know you've had a weird effect on the Boss." Yasuhara said as they walked. "You bossed him around earlier and he let you."

"So?" Mai said.

"No one else could have done that." Yasuhara pointed out. "He really cares about you."

"I know." Mai said. It was true, she would bother denying it. She just didn't know what she wanted to happen. After losing the twins, she had felt like damaged goods and she didn't want to be around when Naru realised that. But another part of her wanted to run to him and let him embrace her and enjoy it while she could. Perhaps a little of her thoughts appeared on Mai's face, because Yasuhara put an arm around her shoulders and gave her a little squeeze.

"He will wait for you, until you are ready." Yasuhara said. Mai couldn't reply.

**Author's note: Please review :)**


	19. Chapter 19

There had been no activity all morning. Masako had stood in the day room trying to talk to the spirit, but it had been reluctant to come near. Lunch was a quiet affair. Only John and Yasuhara were talking. Mai was vaguely listening to their debate on the advantages and disadvantages of different maki fillings; trust boys to talk about food while eating other food.

"I want to induce some activity." Naru said once he'd finished eating. "Mai, you will go and sit in the day room."

"Why me?" Mai asked indignantly.

"Because you are a danger magnet." He replied, rolling his eyes as he did so.

"He just wants an excuse to rescue her." Yasuhara sniggered. "You know I'm not sure it counts as a rescue if you set her up for trouble, Boss."

Naru silenced Yasuhara with a look.

"You can rescue her then." He said to Yasuhara. "Ayako you better go as well."

So twenty minutes later, Mai found herself sitting in the day room. Yasuhara was fiddling with the TV and Ayako was staring out the window again.

"So do we just wait?" Mai asked the room tentatively.

"Just act normally." A voice came out of the walkie-talkie they had placed on a table.

"This TV is definitely broken; I can't get it off this channel." Yasuhara complained.

"It will only change with the remote that will be in the office." Ayako said. "Only the doctors and nurses can change the channel. It's to prevent arguments amongst the patients."

"Wonderful." Yasuhara sank into the sofa next to Mai. "How about a passionate make out session?" He offered her.

"Yasuhara if you keep insisting on trying to sexually assault my assistant I will remove you."

"I didn't touch Lin!" Yasuhara exclaimed, insulted. "And I only offered Mai-"

"Yasuhara, I am grateful for your offer, but I wish to keep my mind on my work right now." Mai said, playing along. "I fear if we go down that route, I would not be able to concentrate. Besides, they'd be watching." She pointed to the camera.

"You two are asking for trouble." Ayako muttered from where she was sat, by the window.

"I think its Mai's middle name." Yasuhara said. "You know, we could cover the camera." He whispered conspiratorially.

"The thermal camera could see though anything we used to cover it." Mai said.

"Or move the camera."

"Naru would move it back."

"We could do it behind the camera." Yasuhara tried.

"Ayako would be watching."

"She can join in!"

"Dream on desperate." Ayako said.

"Can't blame a guy for trying!" Yasuhara laughed.

Then the lights went out, leaving the room only visible from the dim light seeping through the clouds outside. The lights flicked back on. Then the blinds shut by themselves and the lights flicked back off. The room was almost pitch black.

"Turn the camera back on." The radio crackled.

"We haven't touched the camera." Yasuhara said.

"Check the cable-" But the speaker fizzled out. Then they all heard a smash.

"I can't get the blinds to open." Ayako said. Mai heard Yasuhara get up and start making his way to the door.

"The door won't open." He said, shaking the door. The TV started flicking on and off. The effect was painful on Mai's eyes.

"I'm going to try and project to the spirit." She said quickly and then lay down on the sofa and closed her eyes. As her body relaxed, she opened her eyes to find herself in a ghostly grey version of the room. Everything was giving off a pale glow and stood in the corner was a man, holding the blinds shut.

"Hello?" Mai said tentatively.

"You're not real. The doctors said you aren't real." He said. He wasn't looking at Mai, but at his shoes.

"I am real." Mai said.

"That's what they all say." He muttered.

"How would you know if I was real?" Mai asked. "If you could touch me, and I was solid, would I be real?" The man seemed to think about this, then nodded. Mai got up from the sofa and edge her way closer to the man, holding her hand out.

He was watching her hand avidly. When she was close enough, he reached out his own hand and touched hers briefly. His hands were rough and cold.

"You are real?" He seemed unsure.

"Yes, see you can feel how solid I am." Mai left her arm out, just in case he wanted to double check.

"But you just appeared?"

"I came from another place."

"From the place where the voices are?"

"What voices?"

"Can't you hear them? Listen." He said.

Mai listened, now that neither of them were speaking, she could hear two distinct voices. She knew them to be Ayako and Yasuhara.

"I can hear them." She said. "Those are my friends."

"Why are your friends in my head?" He asked, his eyes full of fear.

"Can you see a bright white light?" Mai asked, unsure how to deal with the man.

"Yes. It follows me. But it's not real; the doctors said the things I see aren't real."

"It's a doorway." Mai said. "A doorway to a place where these voices won't bother you."

"But the doctors said it wasn't real."

"You made the lights go off didn't you? And you shut the blinds? And locked the doors?"

"Yes. To make the voices go away." He said, as if this was obvious. "Got to make the voices go away."

"But those voices belong to my friends, you're hurting my friends." Mai said gently. "You don't want to hurt them do you?"

"But they have to go away."

"If you head towards the light, then they will go away." Mai said. But the man startled.

"I have to go! I can't be here. I shouldn't be here." He left his place by the window and almost ran to the door. Mai tried to follow, but the man had disappeared when she reached the doorway. So she returned to her body, annoyed that she had not asked his name.

As she opened her eyes, Mai acknowledged the presence of several people around her.

"What did you do?" Yasuhara asked as she sat up.

"I talked to him." And she relayed the conversation. It seemed that while she was talking to him, everyone apart from Lin had rushed to the room, but were unable to get in. Only as the man left and released the door, were the others able to get in.

"So was that enough trouble for you?" Ayako was glaring at Naru. "This really seemed unnecessary."

"We learnt more of the spirit." Naru said as if this excused his decision.

"He's returned to the top floor." Masako said. "I think that is his bedroom."

"He won't return here today." Mai said. "I think he's stuck in the timetable he had here in life." Masako nodded her agreement.

"Let's get back to the base." John said.

Later that evening, after they had eaten their dinner, the group resumed their chosen leisure activities. Mai was convinced she could talk the spirit into moving on, but her thoughts were interfering with her card playing abilities.

"Are my looks that distracting, Mai?" Naru asked, after she had lost the third game in a row. She hadn't realised she had been gazing in his direction, though her eyes were out of focus.

"No, your bad kanji drawing skills are though." She retorted. Mai had noticed he was still doing the stroke order incorrectly.

"They look exactly the same once done." He muttered stubbornly.

"But when using a kanji dictionary you'll be stuffed." Yasuhara pointed out and Mai nodded.

"Here, let me show you again." Mai got up, walked over to the table he was sitting at and stole the pen from his hands. "Now most of the time you work left to right." She started, and explained the different components of the kanji with examples. "In short, left to right, top to bottom." She concluded.

"It's so weird watching Mai teach Naru things." Madoka said. Naru glared at her.

"I don't see why receiving instruction from someone who has done this for years is odd." He said. "Despite Mai's general incompetence in everything that doesn't include making tea or getting into trouble; her handwriting is a lot neater than yours."

Mai poked Naru in the side, causing him to flinch.

"I am not generally incompetent." She pouted at the smirk on Naru's face. He scribbled something on the paper they were practicing kanji on. It took Mai a moment to translate the English: _You look very cute when you pout_. Mai blushed, making Naru smirk more.

Unsure how to reply to this, Mai made to leave and return to the card games. But Naru grabbed her hand to prevent her moving too far. Everyone else had returned to their own activities, so no one saw the action.

"Is this right?" Naru asked softly. Mai watched as he drew the kanji correctly.

"Perfect." Mai smiled.

"I know."

On the other side of the room, Madoka was watching Naru and Mai out of the corner of her eye.

"Luella will love her." She said quietly to Lin.

"Yes." He agreed.

"But they can't tell her about the miscarriage." Madoka was thinking out loud.

"There is no reason to."

"How long do you reckon? Before those two are official."

"Depends on when Naru thinks Mai is ready after what happened." Lin said. "Not too long though. He lets her get away with so much already."

"I reckon she makes him happier than Gene did."

"It's a different happy I think." Lin said. Then two cushions from the sofas hit both Lin and Madoka around the back of the head.

"I can hear you two talking." Naru said. Mai looked around, obviously oblivious to what Lin and Madoka had been saying. "Mai and I will be 'official' when she wants us to be and she will only meet my mother if she absolutely has to." He continued to look at the paper in front of him while he said this in a matter of fact tone.

Mai turned at his words. The blush was still present, but she felt a little shocked and a bit scared. A rush of confused emotions sprang into her brain and she wanted nothing more than to get out of there.

"I might go to bed." Mai feigned a yawn and stood up. Naru did not stop her this time so she left the room.

In the girls' room, she hastily changed into her pyjamas and climbed into bed. As she lay on her side, staring into space, Mai tried to sort out some of her emotions.

She knew she cared about Naru, loved him really. But the guilt of losing the twins, his twins, weighed heavily on her heart. The doctor had told her she should be able be able to get pregnant again and that there was no reason that it shouldn't be successful. But she wasn't sure if she wanted to anymore. Would he still want someone who wasn't sure if they wanted children?

In short, Mai felt damaged. Her head was telling her that Naru deserved someone whole and unscarred. Which confused her even more, why was he still interested in her? Yasuhara had been right when he had said Naru had let her get away with so much. Just now, his had essentially declared his intentions for everyone to hear. Why wasn't he running a mile?

It was all just too confusing.

Mai heard the door open and close. She couldn't see who had come in, but pressed her eyes shut and feigned sleep.

"Mai?" It was Madoka who had whispered into the quiet room. Madoka obviously guessed that she was asleep, so started to ready herself for bed.

Mai heard the door open again; two sets of footsteps entered this time.

"Mai's asleep." Madoka whispered softly to the other women.

"Do you think she's okay?" Masako asked quietly. "Do you think she was upset Naru didn't want her to meet his mother?"

"No." Ayako said firmly. "She's feeling confused. Miscarriage really screws with your emotions and Naru isn't helping that right now. He wants them to be together and she's feeling guilty over losing the twins. He needs to back off for a bit, let her sort herself out."

"Surely she needs his support?" Madoka said.

"Support yes, pressure to be in a relationship, no." Ayako sighed. "Let's get to bed."

Mai listened as they all got into bed and flicked the lights off, thinking about what Ayako had said. She was right. Mai did want Naru around, without any pressure. She had enjoyed the banter they had shared recently, it helped distract her. Mai wasn't sure how long she lay there, but was sure that the other women fell asleep long before she did.

Despite being the last to fall asleep, Mai was the first to wake. She dressed silently and headed up to the staff room. She had expected it to be empty, but Naru was sitting on the sofa, once again reading his textbook in one hand and scribbling with the other.

"Mai, tea." He said, hearing her come in. Mai obliged willingly, she wanted a cup too.

He patted the sofa beside him when she handed him a cup of tea. She sat down, slightly apprehensively.

"Lin is under the impression I am pressuring you into a relationship you don't want." He said. "If you are under the same impression, it was not my intention." A look of uncertainty appeared on his face. It was the same expression he had worn that night, so many months ago.

Before Mai could reply, the door burst open to reveal Lin laden with bags of food.

"I found a bakery that opens earlier than the supermarket." He explained, before realising he might have walked in on something. "Did I interrupt?"

"No." Naru said, sipping his tea.

"I will go and wake the others." Mai said, she had barely drunk any of her tea, but no longer wanted it and so left it on the table. She returned to the girls' room and woke Masako, Madoka and Ayako. Then she walked down the corridor to the boys' room and woke Yasuhara and John.

"You woke before me?" Yasuhara sounded incredulous. "Are you ill?" Mai laughed.

"I don't know, feel my forehead." She bounded over to his bed and lifted her hair away from her forehead. Yasuhara felt it with a look of concentration.

"Yes, definitely ill. Very bad case of the tickle-bugs!" And he pounced, pinning her down and tickling her mercilessly. John laughed as Mai shrieked loudly from Yasuhara's actions.

Ayako burst in at the scream to see Yasuhara, wearing nothing but boxers, atop of Mai.

"Get off of her you pervert!" Ayako shouted. Mai took advantage of Yasuhara pausing to look around at Ayako and she flipped him over and started tickling him. Yasuhara squealed like a small child and was flapping his arms uselessly.

"Thanks Ayako!" Mai shouted over the noise Yasuhara was making.

"I surrender!" Yasuhara gasped. "Please! Stop!" Mai relented and dismounted.

"Go and get ready, Lin has breakfast." She said, still laughing. "Sorry John."

"Quite alright Mai." John looked a little confused by the whole event. Mai dragged Ayako from the doorway.

"What was that about?" Ayako asked, she also looked a little confused.

"He keeps tickling me." Mai explained. It was true; Yasuhara had been tickling her as a method of waking her up. "It's just sort of become a thing."

"He was in his boxers."

"Yeah he walks around like that a lot at mine." Mai saw Ayako raise an eyebrow. "He's like a brother Ayako, it's not like that." Tired of peoples' assumptions, Mai left Ayako outside the girls' room and returned to the staff room. She grabbed her book and sat in the far corner.

**Author's note: Thank you all so much for your reviews, you are all so kind! I was hoping I could ask you all a favour, I was hoping you could all recommend me another anime/manga to read/watch. Kinda in a 'if you love Ghost Hunt, you'd like...' way? Anyway please review :)**


	20. Chapter 20

Yasuhara had entered the staff room mid-morning with a copy of the timetable that the long term mental health patients abided by.

"This explains why there has only been activity in the afternoon, that's when patients were allowed into the day room."

"Wonderful." Madoka said. "I am going to go and get some fresh air then, if we are free until this afternoon." She didn't wait for Naru to approve this, but jumped up and put her jacket on. "Mai, care to join me?"

Mai looked up from her book, she didn't really want to stop reading, but the hopeful look on Madoka's face was hard to refuse.

"Alright." She shoved her bookmark into her book and got up. Madoka linked arms with Mai and they left the hospital.

Together they walked in silence until Madoka dragged Mai into a park.

"I want to talk to you about something." Madoka said. "But I want to swear you to secrecy on everything said."

"Okay?" Mai was unsure of exactly what she was agreeing to.

Madoka sat down on a park bench and Mai followed suit.

"Do you promise not to tell?"

"I promise." Mai said.

"You remember on the way to the Satou case, you asked why Lin and I aren't married?" Mai nodded at her words. "Well we lied to you. I have met Lin's father and he actually quite likes me, all things considering."

"Why did you lie?" Mai was confused.

"Because the real reason is a little more painful."

Mai wondered what could be more painful than the hatred the Chinese held for the Japanese as a result of the atrocities of the war.

"The truth is, I won't marry him." Madoka said. She did not look tearful, but Mai could tell this was a touchy subject.

"Why? Don't you love him?" Mai was thoroughly nonplussed now.

"Of course I love him. It's for that reason I can't." Madoka took a deep breath. "I cannot have children. Basically my eggs are empty of the bit needed to make a baby with. I cannot marry Lin, knowing that doing so would prevent him of having children of his own."

"Does he want children?" Mai asked, shocked by the news Madoka had just shared.

"He says he doesn't mind, but I think he does."

"Why not adopt?"

"It's not the same Mai." Madoka sighed. "He essentially helped raise Eugene and Oliver, he's already had adopted kids really." Mai didn't know what to say. "It's why we were so long the other day, we were arguing about it."

"So you weren't screwing in the van!" Mai exclaimed.

"Well, not in the van." Madoka laughed bitterly. "The arguments often end in sex. I think Lin thinks that if we do it enough, I'll get pregnant and change my mind."

"Would you?"

"Probably." She looked away.

"Why did you tell me this?" Mai asked, after a short silence.

"As an example of how stupidly stubborn men can get about women they want." Madoka said. "I know you feel damaged after what happened, and I think I can relate a little to how you feel. But you need to know that Oliver will still want you regardless, even if you were damaged. No matter what you tell him, that he deserves someone whole and unbroken, he will only want you."

Mai nodded and stared off into the distance.

"Thank you." Mai said and Madoka hugged her. "Is there any chance you will get pregnant?"

"The doctors said it wasn't impossible, but that the chances are very slim."

"Well I hope you do get pregnant. You and Lin should be together." Mai said. "If you do, can I be a bridesmaid?" Madoka laughed.

"Mai, if I get pregnant, you can be a bridesmaid at the wedding and godmother to the child too."

"Well let's get you back to Lin then. You have babies to make." Mai jumped up and pulled Madoka with her. "Though please, not on the sofas where I have to sit!" Madoka laughed heartily at that.

They returned to the hospital together, laughing.

"Where have you two been?" Naru glared at the laughing women as they burst into the staff room.

"Talking about baby-making." Madoka giggled. "I was giving Mai tips on how to seduce Yasuhara." She added, to wind Naru up.

"Oh Mai, you don't have to seduce me!" Yasuhara laughed, joining in. "Take me! I'm yours!"

He threw himself at Mai, who batted him away.

"Get off you creep." She joked. Yasuhara felt dramatically to the floor and pouted up at her.

"Let's get some lunch." John said, trying to calm the situation down. Everyone agreed and so John and Ayako started making some food. Mai watched as Yasuhara tried to stand up, but before he could even get to his knees, he fell back to the floor in a comical heap.

"Boss, let me up." He whined as he failed to get up yet again.

"Don't know what you are talking about Yasuhara." Naru said through a smirk.

"I promise to stop flirting with Mai!" His feet slipped from underneath him once more, then Naru let him get up.

"You really are cruel to him." Mai muttered. "He doesn't mean any of it."

"I know." Naru said, returning to his book looking sour. "After lunch I want you to go and talk to the spirit again. You should be able to get him to move on. Then we can get out of here."

"Okay." Mai said. So after she had eaten, Mai returned to the day room alone and lay down on the sofa. She closed her eyes, relaxed and opened them again.

The man was sitting opposite her, waiting expectantly.

"I wondered if you would come back." He said.

"Well I did." Mai said, sitting up in the ghostly grey world. "How are you?"

"Will going to the light really make the voices go away?"

"It will definitely make some of them go away, the ones my friends and I have been making."

"Will it hurt?" He asked, sounding childish.

"I don't think so. What's your name?"

"Shuuya."

"Well Shuuya, you can either wait around here with the voices or you can try going to the light. It is up to you, but I know many people are a lot happier there than they are here. It's more peaceful there." Mai said kindly.

"Can you come with me Mai?"

"No, it's not my time." Mai reached out and took his hand. "Shuuya, you spent your whole life being scared of the voices. If you can be brave now, you can rid yourself of them. You don't need me there; you can do this by yourself."

"The doctors said I had to want to get better."

"And do you?"

"Yes." He looked around at something Mai couldn't see. But she guessed that was where the light was coming from. "Are you sure it'll be okay?"

"Yes." Mai said. Shuuya pulled his hand out of hers and stood up. He started walking to where he had been looking previously. "Be brave Shuuya, I believe in you."

"Thank you Mai." He looked around briefly and then disappeared in a flash of white light. Mai returned to her body and sat up.

When back in the staff room, Masako confirmed the spirit had moved on.

"But there a many others here that are lost." She said quietly to Mai.

"Won't they move on?"

"They will eventually. Hopefully less will hang around now he's gone. I think he was drawing them to him somehow."

"Come on, we should go and pack our things up." Mai said and she linked arms with Masako.

Once the two young women left, John looked up from the cables he was unplugging.

"Mai has come quite a way with her abilities." He said. "I'm glad we didn't have to force the spirit out."

No one else commented as Yasuhara had returned from Dr Takami's office.

"I couldn't find a Shuuya in any of the records." He said, obviously frustrated. "The Dr said he would look himself later, and that he's sorry he can't see us go but he has other things to attend to."

"Fine." Naru said. "Go and collect the cameras. Lin, help him."

The journey home was quiet and long. Mai and Yasuhara were the last people Ayako dropped off.

"Thank you." Mai said, as they arrived. Yasuhara jumped out immediately and retrieved their bags from the boot.

"I'm going to go and see Monk now." Ayako said. "I thought about what you said, but I don't want to lie to my father."

"But…"

"If he can't accept Monk, he can disown me." Ayako said. "But I won't lie to him."

"Are you sure?" Mai asked.

"Yes. Besides, eloping sounds like fun." Ayako grinned.

"Sounds like a young person thing to do." Mai teased. Ayako poked her in the side.

"Get out of my car you cheeky sod."

"Goodbye Ayako." Mai climbed out and shut the door behind her.

"Bye!" Ayako called out of the open window and she drove off.

**Author's note: Thank you all so much for your suggestions! I have a nice little list of things to check out :) Now if anyone could explain something else to me I would be eternally grateful! Can anyone tell me why anyone ships Lin and Mai? I just can't see it happening at all! Maybe I am too set in my strictly canon ways... Please review :)**


	21. Chapter 21

The following Wednesday, Mai was sat in the office, doodling. It was a beautiful day outside and she was stuck in the office. She wouldn't have minded if she had something to do. Naru had told her she could leave for the day once the post had arrived and she had sorted it. Mai guessed he was waiting for a parcel of some kind or at least something important.

Mai looked down at the drawing on her notepad; it was a very badly drawn flower. She scribbled it out, scrunched up the paper and threw it in the bin beside her desk. Then the doorbell rang. Mai jumped up and ran out of the office and down the stairs.

The postman made her sign for a small, heavy parcel and then gave her a load of letters. Mai carried the load back up the stairs and dumped them on her desk. The parcel was addressed to Naru. A few letters were addressed to the Application Office at SPR and the last few were junk mail. The Application Office address was used for potential customers to send their cases to. It made sorting the mail out easier as the subject of the post was obvious. Mai chucked out the junk and then carried the letters and the parcel to Naru's office. She knocked and entered.

"I have the post, can I go now?" She asked, cheerfully. Naru looked up from what he was reading. Mai put the post down at the end of his desk.

"Mai, tea." He said, looking back down at the document he was reading. Mai felt her whole body sag.

"But you said I could leave after the post arrived."

"Tea. Then I want to talk to you." He looked back up at her. "After we have spoken, you may leave." Mai beamed and rushed to the kitchen.

She returned a few minutes later with a steaming cup of black tea and set it down in front of her boss.

"Shut the door." He said and Mai obliged. It was only as she turned around saw the serious expression on his face, that she wondered if something was wrong. "Sit." And she sat.

"Have I done something wrong?" She asked, hoping she hadn't and that she wasn't fired. Mai couldn't think of anything that she had done wrong, but knowing Naru's expectations of people in general, she couldn't be sure. She watched as he raised an eyebrow at her.

"Is your increased pay covering your expenses? Madoka lead me to believe that previously you were struggling." He said. Mai relaxed, she wasn't in trouble.

"Yes, the pay rise has more than covered everything." Mai said. It was true, her pay had been double and now she had more money that she was spending. As a result, she had opened a savings account and was putting anything left over into this new account. Mai wasn't saving for anything in particular, but she liked having a small pot of money to fall back on if need be.

"Good." He said, looked back down at the document he was reading and took a sip of tea.

"Is that all?" Mai asked, hopefully.

"No." He said. Mai's stomach dropped, what else could there be? She had a suspicion he was enjoying keeping her in a state of worry.

"What else then?" She prompted after a few minutes silence.

"How is your summer reading coming on?" He asked, still in a business-like tone. Mai was a little confused as to why he was asking something so casual in such a formal way.

"I finished the book last weekend." Mai said. "I planned to start the report this weekend, as we don't have a case."

"Good." He said, still looking at the document. Then he grabbed the post and opened the small parcel. It was a book. He read the note attached to the front; then placed it to one side.

"Is that all?" Mai asked. She couldn't shake the nagging worry in her stomach. But he glared at her, then returned to opening his post, occasionally taking a sip of tea. "Naru?"

"No."

"What?"

"No, that is not all." He said, reading a request and then throwing it into the bin.

"Then…?" Mai prompted, starting to get annoyed by his behaviour. She started to pout, then remembered he thought that was cute and so attempted to make her face as blank as his. She would not give him the satisfaction.

"I want to discuss us." He said finally. The uneasy feeling in Mai's stomach did not go away.

"What about us?" Mai said, trying to keep her voice calm.

"I know you are still suffering after what happened." He started; the unfamiliar look of vulnerability had crept into his face. "I have offered to find those that did it, but I do not want to pressure you into making that decision now." Mai relaxed a little at these words. "However, I cannot deny that I care about you." His face looked almost annoyed.

"I think your reactions to Yasuhara spoke louder than anything you just said." Mai smirked.

"I would like to suggest something." He said, ignoring Mai's words. "Will you go on a date with me?" Mai looked up and was shocked to see how unsure he was of her answer. The look was somewhat endearing to Mai.

"Wouldn't that count as inappropriate relations between work colleagues?" Mai teased.

"I can sack you if you prefer." Naru said, without even hesitating.

"No!" Mai said hastily. "Please don't!" Naru smirked at her.

"So what do you say?"

"To what?" Mai said, feigning ignorance, hoping he would repeat his question just for the sheer pleasure of hearing him say those words.

"Will you go on a date with me?" He said, annoyance seeping into his voice.

"I suppose so." Mai replied happily, she could feel her face blushing but didn't care. She felt like a silly teenage girl who'd just been asked out for the first time.

"Then I will pick you up at 10 o'clock Saturday morning." He said and picked up the next envelope. "Now get out of my office so I can concentrate on work."

Mai jumped up, still grinning and left his office. She thought she saw him smile before she closed the door. Grabbing her bag, she said goodbye to Lin and left the office.

Once outside, she pulled her mobile out of her pocket and called Yasuhara.

"Hello Mai!" He answered cheerfully. "Finished already?"

"Naru let me off early. Are you busy?"

"Well this daytime TV is vital to my continued existence."

"I need your help." Mai said, laughing at his words. "Can I meet you in the shopping centre?"

"Sure, why?"

"I need something new to wear."

"Why?"

"I have a date." She grinned in spite of herself and hung up.

The next two days dragged painfully slowly. Naru had given no indication they had spoken about anything other than her pay in his office on Wednesday. Mai wasn't confused about his behaviour, she knew he wouldn't make comment unless necessary.

Eventually, it was Saturday. Mai had woken up very early, eaten breakfast and dressed before 8am. Yasuhara, who knew the score, was trying hard not to laugh at how excited she was. He had spent most of Wednesday afternoon being dragged around shops in search of an outfit that Mai thought was suitable for a date. She had settled on a simple summer dress and a cardigan, as the bruises on her arms were still visible. They were now a murky green colour.

"Let's play cards." Yasuhara said, in an attempt to calm Mai down a little. She agreed, just to have something to do.

"Are you sure I look alright?" She asked halfway through the first game.

"You look beautiful." Yasuhara said. "Though you could turn up in a sack and he would still be attracted to you." Mai scowled at him. "It's true!" Yasuhara laughed.

"Rummy." Mai said, placing her cards down.

"When is he arriving?" He asked, shuffling the deck for another game.

"10am." Mai said and she glanced at the clock. "Only an hour and a half to go."

An hour and a half later, as the clock struck 10am, the doorbell rang. Mai jumped up to answer it. She swung the door open and felt her jaw drop. Naru was standing outside her door, smirking at her. But her shock had not been at his presence, but at what he was wearing. He stood dressed smartly in a pale blue shirt, beige chinos and smart leather shoes.

"Hello. Are you ready?" He said, amused by Mai's reaction to his clothing choice. It had been worth wearing it just for that moment.

"Yes." Mai snatched up her bag. "Bye Yasuhara!" She shouted over her shoulder and shut her apartment door behind her.

"How are you?" He asked as they walked down to his car.

"Fine." Mai said, still staring. Then she tentatively touched his shirt's arm. "It's real."

"Yes Mai, they are real clothes that aren't black." He smirked.

"Are you alright? You aren't ill or anything?" Mai asked.

"You dressed up to see me Mai; I don't see why my doing the same thing for you is all that shocking."

Mai was slightly overwhelmed by this statement. He had noticed he effort she'd made and he'd made an effort for her. Naru, the narcissist, had made an effort with his appearance just for her.

They drove in silence for about ten minutes, before Naru parked in a small car park in an area of the city Mai did not know.

"It's a short walk from here." He said as they got out.

"Where are we going?" Mai asked.

"It's a surprise." He said mysteriously and offered her his arm, which she took happily. Naru lead her down a series of random streets. They weren't close to the main shopping area, but there were a few shops here and there. Mostly it was offices and the odd house. Five minutes after they started walking, Naru stopped Mai at the side of the street and turned to face her.

"Do you trust me?" He asked.

"Of course." Mai said. He nodded and then pulled a handkerchief out of his trouser pocket.

"I want it to be a surprise." He said, and used the handkerchief to blindfold her. "Can you see anything?"

"No." Mai said, wishing she had taken a better look at her surroundings before he had covered her eyes.

"Come on then." He took her arm and led her onwards. Two minutes later, he slowed and Mai heard a door open. She let him lead her through and then he pushed her into a seat.

"Wait there." He said. "I'll be back in a minute."

"Okay." Mai said, straining to hear anything. There seemed to be a load of noisy machines, which she guessed were possibly old arcade games. She could just about hear Naru talking to someone, it sounded like English, but it wasn't loud enough for her to distinguish words. "Get up." Naru said from beside her a moment later. He took her arm again and led her onwards. "We have to go down some stairs now." He said as they reached some steps. Mai hesitated, but Naru squeezed her hand reassuringly and she poked her foot forwards until she could feel the step.

Once at the bottom of the stairs, Naru led her through another set of doors. She could no longer hear the arcade games. He led her between two rows of something; she could feel things touching her legs on either side. Finally he sat her down in a big squishy seat.

"If you can guess where we are, I will take the blindfold off now." He said quietly. Mai listened intently for any clues of where they might be. She could hear quiet classical music in the background, but it didn't help her work out where she could be. So she felt around her. The chair she was sat in had two arms with weird round dips at the end. There seemed to be another seat on her left and Naru was on her right. So there were rows of chairs. So perhaps a theatre? But no theatre had arcade games outside nor did any theatre she knew of have performances this early in the day. The cinema maybe? She had no other ideas.

"The cinema?" She wasn't entirely sure; Naru didn't like going to see movies. He preferred reading.

"I'm impressed." Naru undid the blindfold and Mai blinked rapidly, allowing her eyes to adjust. The cinema was small, maybe only 50 seats and at the present time, they were the only two there. "If you can guess what we are going to see, I'll give you a kiss." Naru smirked.

The screen was currently blank and Mai couldn't see any other clues in the room to give away what they would see. He wouldn't have asked her to guess if there weren't any clues. So he must have given some indication previously as to what they would see.

"Can I ask some questions to help me guess?" Mai asked. Naru considered her for a moment.

"You can have three questions, but I will only answer yes or no." He said finally. "We have about ten minutes before it starts."

"Is it work related?" Mai asked first.

"No." Naru almost laughed. Did she really think he was so obsessed with work as to bring it on a date with her? Mai was pouting, deep in thought.

"Have you seen it before?" She asked.

"Yes." He answered. "I watched it with Gene." So that meant it was at least a few years since the film had come out. "One more question."

Mai thought, if he had seen it with Gene; that most likely meant they had seen in England, or maybe in the American orphanage. So that had to mean it was a film in English, or at least the original was.

"Was it made in English?" She asked.

"Yes." He smiled at her. "But you have no more questions now. So what do you guess?"

Mai returned to her thoughts. He obviously thought she wanted to see it, but she'd never had too much interest in English-speaking films. The Japanese dubbing had always irritated her. Thought she supposed now her English skills had improved so much, she should try watching them, it would be good listening practice. She supposed she would watch the films of the books she had already read, so that she had some idea of the plot beforehand. It would help with following the story when the language became tricky. Hadn't Naru asked if she had finished her summer reading book? What if…?

"Is it Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone?" She asked tentatively.

Naru did not answer, but leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. She beamed at him.

"I thought it would help you." He said a minute later, as a few other people entered the cinema. "This cinema complex shows foreign films. Mostly new ones, but Saturday mornings is old family films." He told her. "If you get stuck with any of the language, let me know and I will translate."

Mai couldn't help but smile at his kindness. It was very unlike him to help without calling her stupid.

A few minutes later, the film started and Mai was giving it her full attention. She didn't notice that Naru was not watching the film, but her. He was amused by the way she muttered translations under her breath, impressed by how well she was keeping up. Throughout the film, she occasionally, looked around at him and her eyes begged for the meaning of a word. He gave them willingly, smiling as she took in everything he said.

He remembered the last time he had watched this film. It had been just after the Davis' had adopted the twins. His parents had bought a load of DVDs for him and Gene so they felt more at home. They had watched it to please their new parents. Gene had genuinely enjoyed the film, whereas he had only tolerated it. He had never had much interest in fiction, much less one with ghosts in it that acted inaccurately.

When the film finally finished and the lights came back on, Mai smiled at him.

"Thank you." She said. He smiled and then led her out of the cinema by the hand. He did not let go of her hand when they reached the bright day outside.

"Would you like some lunch?" He asked. Mai nodded. "What would you like?"

"I don't mind." Mai said honestly. He narrowed his eyes at her a moment, then pulled her off in a new direction. "Where are we going?" But he didn't answer.

"Is sushi okay?" He said, indicating a restaurant up ahead.

"Of course." Mai said. They went in and settled down at the sushi bar, Mai watched all the little plates on the little moving track that ran along the side of the table. A waitress came over and took their drink orders, Naru smiled flatteringly at the waitress as she wrote down the drinks. As she left, he looked at Mai with a frown.

"Why do you not get jealous?" He asked. "I smiled more at that girl just now than I smile at you most days, yet you don't react." Mai laughed softly.

"Because your mouth may have moved into what you would call a smile, but your eyes were still cold." She said. "When you smile at me, your eyes smile too." He scowled at her and she giggled.

"When is Yasuhara leaving?" Naru asked as he took a plate of maki.

"At the end of his summer break." Mai said. "You're not really jealous of him are you?" Naru did not answer. No matter how hard he tried to tell himself that it was not jealousy, he still didn't like the way Yasuhara looked at and behaved around Mai. Mai's laugh brought him out of his thoughts. "You have nothing to worry about Naru." She said.

"I know." He said, trying to force his face into his usual confident self, but he suspected Mai saw his uncertainty. "Would you like to do this again sometime?"

"Go on another date you mean?" Mai asked, just to be sure. He gave her a look which plainly said 'well what else?' "I wouldn't mind." She said, choosing another plate for herself.

At that moment, the waitress arrived with their drinks. Mai thanked the waitress, before looking back at Naru. He was concentrating on his food.

"What about…" Naru hesitated. "What about making it a regular thing?" Mai watched him for a moment before answering. She could tell he was trying to control his facial expression.

"How about we skip to you asking me to be your girlfriend?" Mai suggested. Naru looked up very quickly.

"Do you want to be my girlfriend?" He asked, very quietly.

"Yes." Mai said, rolling her eyes and grinning. Naru's face broke into a brilliant and rather smug smile.

"Good." He said, and returned to his food. "Madoka is going to be revolting." He said after a few pieces of sushi and Mai laughed.

"Yes she is." Mai agreed. "I will try and keep her from annoying you too much."

"Thanks. You know my mother will be worse." He sighed.

"Really?" Mai asked as she chose another plate.

"Yes. She was convinced that Gene would be the one to give her grandchildren and that I would remain locked in my office, married to my work."

"Not an unreasonable assumption." Mai pointed out.

"When you meet her, can we not tell her about what happened?" He asked. "I have asked Lin and Madoka not to say anything. She still gets upset about Gene and I think that telling her she's already lost grandchildren might not be a good idea."

"Fine by me, it's not really a cheerful topic." Mai looked down, her grin fading.

"Thank you." He said. "Do you want to visit them? We could go to the graveyard before I take you home."

"Okay." Mai said, finishing her sushi. She hadn't visited since the previous weekend.

Naru paid the bill and they walked back to his car. The journey was silent. When they arrived, Mai climbed out of the car and started walking to where she knew the graves to be. The flowers planted in front of the headstones were blooming and looked beautiful in the summer sun. Mai knelt in the space between the graves. She started telling her real family about what had happened that week, ignoring Naru behind her. She told her mother how she'd gone out and bought a new dress just for her date. She told her father that Naru had been a complete gentleman. And finally she told her children how considerate their father had been.

"Your father is one of the most intelligent people I know." She said. "But he's also a complete idiot. I'm still not sure he's entirely convinced that I'm not in love with his brother. Don't get me wrong, his brother is nice and all. But he's not your father." She paused and looked around at Naru, who standing a few feet away. His face was blank. "I'm going to go now, I'll see you all soon." She blew kisses at each member of her family, and then got up, brushing the dried mud from her knees.

"Will you take me home now?" She asked, holding her hand out. He took it and nodded. Back in the car, Naru started the engine and was about to pull off when Mai stopped him.

"Wait, I want to talk to you about finding the thugs." She said. "If you really want to find them, I don't want to stop you. They deserve to go to prison for what they did." She paused and took a deep breath. "But I want you to promise not to do anything stupid. Just to turn them in. I don't want to lose you."

"Mai, if I did anything to them, I wouldn't be stupid enough to get caught." He said with a hint of a growl. "PK has its advantages."

"I know. That's what I'm afraid of." Mai said sadly. "I don't want you playing god. If I tell the police that those are the men that attacked me, they will receive the full brunt of the law."

"They deserve worse than being locked up, however unpleasant it might be."

"Well then I hope their consciences are giving them hell."

Naru started to drive. He hadn't given much thought to what he wanted to do to those pieces of scum, but he wasn't sure he wanted to let them live. When he pulled up outside Mai's apartment, he turned the engine off and turned to look at Mai.

"I promise I will turn them in." He said. "But I won't promise not to hurt them. Deal?"

Mai sighed.

"Okay. Do you want to do it now?" She asked.

"No. We'll do it on Monday, I don't want to ruin today." He said. "Would you like me to see you up?"

"If you want." Mai got out of the car and Naru followed. He walked her up to her flat and waited for her to find her keys. She opened her door, but Naru stopped her from going in. Gently, he pulled her closer and kissed her softly on the lips. She blushed and he smirked.

"Thank you for a nice day." She said.

"Anytime." He said and Mai entered her flat, turned to shut the door and waved as Naru left.

"So how was it?" Yasuhara's voice came from the sofa. Mai jumped, she'd forgotten he was there.

"Fine." She said, dumping her bag and slumping onto the sofa beside him. He raised an eyebrow at her.

"Just fine? I can't imagine him doing anything and it just being 'fine'." Yasuhara prompted and Mai laughed. She thought about the day, it had been a very emotional day, but it hadn't been bad at all.

"It was good." She rectified.

"And I saw that kiss."

"So? Wouldn't you kiss your girlfriend at the end of a date?" Mai asked, knowing the reaction this would prompt.

"He asked you out?"

"Obviously."

"Finally!" Yasuhara said, overjoyed. Then he grabbed his phone and started texting everyone the news. Mai sighed and turned her own phone on silent. She would deal with everyone else tomorrow.

**Author's note: I didn't realise quite how long this was! Thank you all for your reviews so far and please review this chapter too! **


	22. Chapter 22

Mai spent all of Sunday avoiding phone calls and answering texts regarding exactly how her date with Naru went. Most of her friends hadn't even known they were going on a date. Yasuhara had wheedled the details out of her and promptly shared them with what seemed to be the entire world.

When Monday morning came, Mai knew she would not be able to avoid going into work. Facing the inevitable, she turned up early. Hoping that if she could at least be in the office and settled before Madoka, Ayako, Monk, John and Masako turned up to interrogate her, she would be able to handle them better.

Unfortunately, Lin had brought Madoka to work with him. She pounced on Mai and dragged her to the sofa.

"Oliver has locked himself in his office. So you will have to tell me everything." She ordered, grinning at Mai.

"I thought Yasuhara had told everyone everything." Mai winced.

"That's beside the point!" Madoka said; a crazy gleam in her eyes. "I want to hear it from you!"

Before Mai could do anything more than stutter at her friend, Naru's office door opened.

"Mai, tea." He said, and then closed it behind him. Mai jumped up and almost ran to the kitchen. She knew Madoka was following her.

"Lin! Help me!" Mai shouted as she started to make tea. Lin appeared in the doorway and smirked at the sight of Madoka badgering Mai.

"Sorry, you are on your own." He said, obviously amused. "I had to put up with her squealing all day yesterday."

"Just tell me a little bit!" Madoka was begging as Mai continued making the tea. Mai ignored her and started humming to herself. "Please Mai!"

When the tea was finally ready, Mai took it to Naru's office; he let her in and then glared down at Madoka.

"If you don't leave my assistant alone, I will throw you out of the building." He said and then shut the door in her face. "I didn't expect it to spread quite this quickly."

"Really?" Mai set the tea down on his desk and laughed.

"It still astounds me how they don't have more important things to think about." He said, retaking his seat. "I would like to perform the psychometric evaluation now, if that's okay with you?"

"What do I need to do?" Mai asked.

"Just sit down." He said. Then he moved his chair around so he was closer to him. "I will warn you, I may faint or fall off my chair. This is perfectly normal and nothing to worry about. I should not be out for more than a few minutes, so just stay with me okay?" Mai nodded and held out her hand. Naru took her hand. Mai watched as he closed his eyes and felt his body seem to momentarily seize up.

A second later, his body relaxed and went floppy. He fell forward and Mai caught him. Somehow, despite his weight, she forced him back into his chair. She waited with baited breath for him to come round.

A few tense minutes later, Naru opened his eyes. He brought his hand up to shield his eyes from the light.

"Are you okay?" Mai asked quietly. She could see anger in his eyes; anger and perhaps pain.

"No." He said. Naru did not move. "I am sorry Mai."

"For what?" She asked, confused.

"That I was not there." He took a moment to compose himself and then sat up straighter in his chair. He took a sip of tea before looking up at Mai. "I will find them and bring them to justice."

"Okay." Mai said in a quiet voice. She was slightly scared by the look in his eyes.

"Go back to work. If Madoka speaks to you about anything other than work and related topics, let me know and I will throw her out." He said. Mai was slightly taken aback, she hadn't expected Naru to act any different around her at work, but his tone was still painful on her ears. Knowing what he had just seen, Mai took his actions with a pinch of salt and left his office.

"He was serious you know, about throwing you out." Mai said, as Madoka rushed forward yet again. Madoka backed off, returning to the sofa and taking a book out of her bag.

"You are no fun." She said and started reading.

The morning was quiet until just before lunch, when Monk burst into the office and headed straight for Naru's office.

"Monk?" Mai called out as he entered. But Monk ignored her. He forced his way into the office and closed the door behind him. "Too much drama." Mai muttered and returned to her work.

Inside Naru's office, Monk was glaring down at Naru with a fierce intensity in his eyes.

"What do you want?" Naru asked, not looking up from what he was reading on his computer's screen.

"I want you to know that if you hurt Mai you will have me to answer to." Monk growled. "I don't care about your PK or whatever; I will find a way of causing you a lot of pain if you hurt that girl." Naru rolled his eyes.

"I have no intention of hurting Mai." He said. He had expected something of this sort from Monk, who seemed to view himself as some sort of protective father like figure for Mai.

"Well your current record isn't putting you in good stead right now." Monk said. "Did you even think before you left? Who screws a girl he supposedly cares about and then just leaves without explanation?"

"I do not feel the need to answer that." Naru said. As if he needed reminding of that now.

"Because you know it was stupid." Monk hissed. "Hurt her again and I will hurt you." Then her turned on his heel and stormed towards the door which he pulled open forcefully. "You do not deserve Mai." He said over his shoulder and then slammed the door behind him as he left.

"I know." Naru said quietly to himself before returning to his work.

In the main office, Mai stared up at Monk, who was still fuming.

"Are you okay?" She asked tentatively. Mai had heard the last thing Monk had said to Naru and was slightly shocked. Madoka and Lin were also staring at him. Monk came over to her desk and knelt down beside her chair.

"Are you sure about this?" He asked, his face had changed completely. A second before it had been angry, not there was nothing but worry.

"Yes." Mai said. "I love him."

"I want you to promise to tell me if he does anything wrong to you. And I mean anything. If he even so much as thinks about being an idiot towards you, I want you to tell me."

"Monk…" Mai started.

"Mai! Promise me."

"Okay, I promise." Mai said and his face relaxed. He drew her into a tight hug.

"I just don't want to see you hurt okay?" He said quietly into her ear. "Someone in this place deserves happiness."

"Are things still not sorted with Ayako's father?" Mai asked.

"No. She offered to elope with me, but I don't want to run away from this." Monk sank back, then noticed Lin and Madoka staring. "Don't you two have something better to do than be nosy?"

Lin had the grace to look ashamed and returned to his work. However Madoka just smiled at him.

"Nope, nothing better to do right now." She said sweetly.

"Eugh. I have to go Mai, I'm meeting Ayako for lunch. She wants to see you sometime to discuss your situation." Monk said with a hint of sadness present in his voice.

"What is there to discuss?" Mai moaned. "Last week we cared about each other and weren't together, now we care about each other and are together. It's really not a big deal."

"She seems to think that Yasuhara is withholding information about how your date went."

"And why is the contents of the date anyone else's business?"

"Because, Mai, we all care about you and that idiot."

"Well then stop having a go at him." Mai glared at Monk. "I am big enough to look after myself. I have done it for years. And if he does do something stupid then I will be the only one shouting at him."

"Fine." Monk sighed. "I better get going. I'll see you all later." And he left the office. Mai sighed and leant back in her chair. Who knew this would all be so much trouble?

Fortunately, no one else intruded for the rest of the day. Mai eventually got her work done and later that afternoon, Mai and Madoka had a lengthy discussion regarding different types of spirits.

At the end of the day, Naru offered to drive Mai home, which she gratefully accepted as it had started raining.

"It may take me some time to find them." He had pulled into a side street and parked in order to talk to Mai. "It's hard when all I have to go on is their appearance."

"Okay." Mai said. She didn't really care. She didn't care if he never found them. She never wanted to see them again.

"Do you want to come back to mine?" Naru asked after a moment's silence. "Just for dinner." He clarified.

"You just want to show off some more." Mai teased.

"And you are going to pretend you don't like it?" Naru said, raising an eyebrow.

"Fine." Mai resigned. Naru revved the engine and drove off towards his apartment. "You know we haven't escaped Madoka's questioning."

"I know." Naru said. "I received an email from my parents this morning asking for details. Well, I say my parents, I mean my mother." Mai laughed nervously. "Don't laugh; she'll have the wedding planned and grandchildren named by the end of the week."

"Why on earth would she be planning them?" Mai asked.

"Because she'll be so happy I found someone stupid enough to put up with me." Naru said.

Mai ignored the insult.

Ten minutes later, once in Naru's apartment, he headed straight for the kitchen to start cooking. Mai felt slightly awkward. She couldn't help but think about the last time she had been here and what they had done. It seemed like a lifetime ago and yet somehow, painfully recent too.

Naru used his own body to assist the cooking while using his PK to finish the job. Mai watched the act, trying to distract herself. Food and utensils were flying about him while he stirred and tasted the food.

Mai was scared to admit it to herself, but she wanted something to happen between them. She did not want to have sex with him, but perhaps a few passionate kisses to replace the last memory of them being really intimate.

They ate in silence and then Naru set the washing up to do itself.

"Do you want me to take you home now?" He asked.

"No." Mai answered honestly. She took his hand and led him to the sofa. They sat facing each other. Mai stared into his beautiful eyes and Naru stared back.

"Mai…?" He whispered. But before he could say anything else, she was kissing him. It was a gentle kiss, but not one she wanted to finish any time soon. Naru responded happily to her action. When they finally broke apart, Mai was watching him for a reaction. "Mai…" He whispered again.

"I don't want anything serious to happen." Mai said urgently. "But I want to stop thinking for a while." She wanted to get drunk on his kisses. Naru was about to make a snide remark about how she didn't seem to think half the time anyway, but Mai interrupted him before he could even open his mouth. She had kissed him again, shorter this time. They had broken apart for only a second, when he took the lead. He pulled her closer and lay back on the sofa. Placing his hand firmly on her waist, he kissed her and he tried to put some of his feelings for her into the kiss.

A sudden crash made them break apart. Mai looked up to see smashed plates on the kitchen floor. Naru groaned.

"What happened?" Mai asked.

"I got distracted." He said, cursing himself mentally. Mai giggled at the thought and he kissed her again. "That makes it your fault." He growled in her ear.

"What will you have me do?" She asked teasingly. "Have me work as your assistant to pay you back?"

"I'm sure I will get compensation from you somehow." He said. "Now stop talking and start kissing me." Mai giggled again and kissed him passionately. She could feel his hand snaking up her top but didn't care. Her hands were trying to undo his shirt without too much success. Then she felt the buttons undo by themselves and mentally thanked Naru for doing it for her. She ran her hands over his now bare chest and moaned in satisfaction. Naru's fingers were tracing delicate circles on her back. So delicate they almost tickled.

Mai trailed her hand down his torso to the waistband of his trousers. She used her finger to tease the sensitive skin just inside his boxers. He moaned in longing and pulled Mai's shirt off so that she was pressed against him wearing nothing but a bra on her upper half.

His fingers were now tracing small circles on the exposed part of her breasts. Mai felt like they were playing chicken; who would dare to go the next step? But Mai suddenly broke away, a thought had occurred to her.

"What's wrong?" Naru asked.

"Gene if you are watching, bugger off!" She shouted at the room in general.

"What?" Naru looked at her inquisitorially.

"Last time, he walked in on us so to speak." Mai explained.

"That filthy pervert."

"Well I just thought I should warn him to leave now."

But Naru felt like a cold breeze had entered the room and ruined the moment. Mai was watching him closely.

"If you don't want to carry on, it's okay." She said kindly. Naru did not answer, but pulled her into a hug, so that she was resting her head on his chest. A blanket floated in from somewhere and covered the pair of them.

Naru felt guilty. Mai was right there, semi-naked and beautiful and he didn't want to do anything else. Shouldn't they still be mourning the loss of their children? Wasn't this all wrong? He felt Mai snuggle closer to him and smiled. They could just lie here together couldn't they? That was allowed wasn't it?

A loud ringing noise woke Mai and Naru from their sleep. Mai jumped away from Naru and stared around blearily.

"It is my phone." She mumbled and scurried off of Naru to find it. He glanced at the clock, it was just past midnight. He didn't remember falling asleep.

"Hello?" Mai answered the phone. "Yes I'm fine. I'm sorry." She paused. "No… I err… Give me a minute." She covered the mouthpiece with her hand.

"It's Yasuhara." She explained, then returned to the phone. "Yeah we fell asleep watching a film. No nothing happened. Yes I'll come home now."

Naru sighed. He had been so comfortable with Mai beside him. He started to do his shirt up and threw Mai her shirt when she hung up.

"I'm sorry." She mumbled.

"You have nothing to be sorry for."

Naru took Mai home, kissed her goodnight and returned home. He fell onto his bed with the blanket that had covered them earlier. He hadn't bothered to undress, but was asleep within seconds. Only one thought had permeated his brain since his head hit his pillow: if only Mai was there…

**Author's note: I just re-watched the anime and almost cried at so many points. Its so much crueller to watch when you know the reasons behind the actions... Anyway, please review!**


	23. Chapter 23

A few days later, Naru was sat in his office and extremely stressed. He has sent Mai out to get more tea primarily as the office supply was running low. His ulterior motive was to keep her out of the way while he phoned his mother.

Luella had got it into her head that coming to Japan for his birthday the following weekend was a good idea. Naru, on the other hand, did not think this was a good idea. It had taken half an hour to talk his mother out of the trip on the promise he would bring Mai to England for Christmas. Naru had relented on this point. He knew Luella would insist on meeting Mai at some point, but he'd wanted his relationship with Mai to be a bit more comfortable before it happened.

A sound from the other side of his door alerted him to the fact that Mai had returned. Naru called her to his office and she appeared in the doorway, a grin across her face.

"What are you so happy about?" He asked.

"Half price cookies!" Mai grinned. "Do you want some with your tea?"

"No." Naru scowled.

"What's wrong with you?" Mai asked, still smiling.

"I just had to phone my mother." He said. "To persuade her not to come here for my birthday."

"Did you fail?" Mai questioned, assuming that he'd be in a bad mood if he hadn't got his way.

"No." Naru raised an eyebrow at her. "But I have to return for a week at Christmas instead."

"Oh that's not that bad." Mai said, turning to leave.

"You are coming with me."

"What?" Mai spun back around, her face a mask of shock. "Your parents want to meet me?"

Naru rolled his eyes before answering.

"Of course." He said. "Mai, tea."

Too stunned to say anything, Mai left his office and headed towards the kitchen. Madoka was washing out her mug when Mai arrived.

"Madoka? What are Naru's parents like?"

"You're going to meet them?" Madoka rounded on Mai, grinning. "When?"

"Christmas." Mai replied. "What are they like?"

"They are lovely. Luella will love you." Madoka said. "I wonder if I can convince Lin to go to England at Christmas…"

"Why?"

"Well then we can all get together!" Madoka said. "I don't want to miss out on Luella teasing Oliver about you!"

Mai sighed and returned to making tea. She plated up the cookies and left them on the table in the main office space, then took Naru his tea. She did not wait for any thanks, she had long given up on the idea. But Naru caught her hand, pulled her back towards him and kissed her on the cheek before returning to what he was reading.

"I could sue you for sexual harassment in the workplace you know." Mai said as she left.

"You won't." Naru's voice drifted out after her and she laughed softly before helping herself to a cookie.

Back in his office, Naru used his PK to shut the door and lock it. He put down the document he had been pretending to read while Mai was in the room and pulled out the rough drawings he had of the men who had attacked Mai. While knowing what the attackers looked like helped, it was hard to get any better leads without more information.

He had returned to the scene of the crime, hoping that one of the men had left something the police had missed. Something else he could use psychometry on. But his search had been fruitless. It was very frustrating.

Naru took a sip of tea and sighed. He closed his eyes and tried to think through what he had seen. Nothing new occurred to him. He had believed at first the attack was random, just thugs taking a chance on a small woman. Naru had checked with the police for similar attacks, but muggings were common. Well, common considering the otherwise low crime rate in Japan.

This fact had changed Naru's mind. Perhaps it was a deliberate attack, but why? Mai was not powerful or influential. He had entertained the idea that someone was trying to get to him, but no one in Japan knew who he was. He had continued to use the name Shibuya Kazuya and no one apart from the SPR gang knew he was really Oliver Davis. Even if they did know who he was, he had been out of the country at the time and no one had known of his feelings for Mai until recently; except the ever-guessing members of SPR.

None of the SPR gang would have done this. So maybe it was a random attack. Naru's thoughts were flying around his head and he couldn't make sense of it. It was only when he opened his eyes he saw that he'd been making some of his book fly around his head. Sighing, he returned them to their rightful place and took another sip of tea.

The only plan he had left was to walk around the city until he found them. It would be like searching for Gene again, trying lake after lake until he found the right one. Perhaps he would share the more detailed drawings of the attackers with the Police; if he could find a suitable excuse for having such things.

Naru got up from his chair and moved to the window. He stared out at the people walking below. He wondered briefly if any of them knew the attackers or even were the attackers. He sighed again and finished his tea. Glancing at the clock, he decided that it was time for lunch.

Leaving the cup on his desk, he swept out of his office.

"Mai, lunch." He said as he walked towards the door. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Mai shove the rest of her cookie into her mouth and jump up from her seat. "Unless you've filled up on cookies?" The question hung in the air as Mai struggled to swallow the cookie down. Naru smirked as he opened the office door. Mai scrambled out after him.

"I didn't!"

"Sure." He said and held out his hand for her to take.

The following Saturday was Naru's birthday. He had insisted on no presents from Mai, as he had not got anything for her on her birthday. Mai had been a little disappointed by this, but settled for taking him out instead. She had chosen to take him for a picnic, not in their local park, but one slightly further out of the city. It was a beautiful day and she had prepared a hamper of food for them to share.

So they sat in the shade of a large cherry tree eating Mai's food and chatting. Mai had been asking Naru about his childhood and his parents. He had told her about the trouble Gene had got into and how he had rescued his brother from punishment, about how Luella and Martin had come to the orphanage in America and taken them away and finally about how he and Gene had helped BSPR with their paranormal research.

"Do you have any idea about your birth parents?" Mai asked and watched as Naru frowned.

"I can't really remember." He said. "Whoever they were taught us Japanese; we properly learnt English in the orphanage and perfected it when we moved to England."

"So why were you in an American orphanage if you only spoke Japanese?"

"I don't know." He said. "Abandoned there I would presume." He looked away.

"I'm sorry; I didn't mean to upset you." Mai shuffled over and kissed him on the cheek.

"What was that for?"

"I was kissing it better." Mai said, a small smile playing on her lips. Naru smirked at her.

"It's okay." He said. "Tell me about your parents."

Mai told him a few stories of her own childhood. Naru smiled occasionally at what she told him, her tales were endearingly typical of Mai. Her getting angry at injustice and then trying to fix things. His favourite example had been regarding her next door neighbours when she was very young. Their young sons had knocked down some flowers in her garden; after Mai had shouted at them, she had tried to stick the flowers back together with glue and tape.

Around 4pm, the wind started to pick up and so the young couple headed home. Naru dropped Mai off outside her apartment and was just getting out of the car when he noticed Mai had frozen. She had a hand on the car door and was staring across the road. He looked around, following her gaze. In a small and almost empty street leading off the main road were three men.

"It's them." Mai whispered but Naru was already running. The men seemed to be following another small women. "Naru!" She screamed after him, her fear unfreezing her limbs. She started after him, dodging the cars as she crossed the road.

Mai watched in horror as the men seemed to flying into the wall of the building on the opposite side of the road. Naru was staring at them; eyes ablaze with anger. The men were staggering to their feet when Mai caught up with him.

"Naru don't!" She shouted, trying to pull him away. But he was possessed. The men were thrown once again into the wall and this time, it drew blood. "You promised to turn them in!"

"I never said I wouldn't hurt them." He hissed at her and Mai recoiled.

"You've hurt them enough!" She retorted. "Stop! Stop and turn them in." The men had obviously been knocked out, but Naru was still throwing them repeated into the wall and each other.

"They hurt you!" Naru shouted back at her. "They deserve this!" He turned away from her and continued his relentless attack on the bastards that had hurt Mai and killed his children. But he hadn't done more than push them once again into the wall when he felt a sharp pain in the back of the head and everything went black.

**Author's note: I am so sorry for taking so long to update, I blame whoever recommended I watch Fairy Tail! I rewatched Ghost Hunt and then started using Fairy Tail as a rebound but now I kinda like it a lot! So watching that (so many episodes!) has eaten into my writing time. Also, I had a bit of writers block! But I think I have only one or two chapters left... Please review :)**


	24. Chapter 24

When Naru woke, he could tell from the smell that he was in a hospital. The first thought that occurred to him, after ascertaining his location, was that his head really hurt. Tentatively, he opened his eyes and cruelly bright light attempted to blind him.

"Oliver?" A voice prompted quietly from beside him.

"Madoka." He said, closing his eyes again. "What happened?"

"How do you feel?" Madoka asked, sounding worried.

"Fine. What happened? Why am I here? Where is Mai?" He tried to open his eyes again and was pleased to find the light slightly less painful.

"Mai is waiting outside. She didn't think you'd want to see her." Madoka paused. "She told us you were attacking the men that hurt her."

Naru nodded, that was the last thing he remembered.

"She said you were going over the top, so she hit you round the back of the head to knock you out and then called the police. The men have been charged with grievous bodily harm."

"Why have I not been arrested?"

"She told the police that they'd knocked you out and she had then hit them with the pipe that she'd really used to knock you out." Madoka explained. Naru sank back into his pillows. He knew he had taken the fight too far, but for Mai to attack him?

"I want to see her." He said. Madoka nodded and left the room to retrieve Mai. Naru knew he would have to apologise to Mai, he was annoyed with himself for losing control like he had.

Mai appeared in the doorway, but seemed hesitant to enter the room.

"Mai, come in." He said, wincing as a sharp pain racked through his head. Timidly, she entered and closed the door behind her.

"I'm sorry." Mai said, still standing by the door. "I didn't want you to kill them so I had too." Silent tears started running down her face.

"No, Mai." Naru looked up at her. "You have nothing to be sorry for. You were right to do as you did." He looked away in frustration.

"I'll remove my things from the office tomorrow." Mai turned to leave.

"What? Why?" Naru looked around quickly and tried to ignore the renewed pain.

"I resign. I attacked you, I have to resign." Mai started out of the door, but something seemed to drag her back.

"Don't be stupid. Why haven't you kissed it better?" Naru said, perfectly seriously. Mai looked around, tears still streaming down her face. Naru's face softened and he held his arms out, beckoning her in for a hug. Mai sobbed and rushed into his arms. He embraced her as she cried into his chest.

"I'm sorry!" She whimpered into his chest.

"No, I should not have lost my temper." He sighed. "I am sorry." Hearing this, Mai sobbed harder and gripped at the hospital gown he was wearing. Naru pulled Mai onto the bed next to him and lay down. "Though remind me not to piss you off." He muttered and he heard a laugh amongst Mai's tears.

When Mai had regained her composure, she called everyone else into the room. Naru grimaced as the entire SPR gang trouped in and started asking him questions. Monk seemed very amused by Mai managing to knock Naru out. He put up with the noisy bunch for half an hour before kicking everyone out but Mai.

He pulled her into another hug; taking in the smell of her shampoo and the softness of her skin.

"I love you Mai." He whispered into her ear. Mai pulled away and stared at him, her face was unreadable.

"I know." She said and smirked at him. He chuckled and pulled her into another hug.

Naru was discharged a few days later but took the rest of the week off. They hadn't had any interesting cases come in, so he did not feel any guilt about the matter. He had spent his extra days off looking for somewhere new to live. He was sick of his apartment and no longer needed to have Lin close.

He felt like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders, he no longer had a mission so to speak. Naru could spend the rest of his life working in paranormal research with nothing to hold him back; no ulterior motive.

At the weekend, he picked up Mai from her apartment and took her to a house he had viewed earlier in the week. He had blindfolded her until they were standing in the entrance hall. When he finally revealed their location, Mai had looked around in confusion.

"Is this a case?" She asked. "No, I can't sense any danger." She frowned.

"Look around." Naru said, his face blank. "Tell me what you think of it, I will wait in the garden." He left her standing in the hallway and made his way to the garden. It was the garden that made this place to desirable. It had a large lawn and a small summer house with a patio that would make a perfect office.

Mai met him 20 minutes later and Naru noticed she was still frowning.

"There aren't any spirits here." Mai said. "So this isn't a case. Why are we here?"

"I am thinking of buying it." Naru said.

"But what about your apartment?"

"I don't want to live there anymore." Naru said. "This place is better."

Mai didn't say anything; she was still a little nonplussed.

"Why am I here?" She said finally.

"You really are dense aren't you?" Naru smirked. "I want you to move in with me."

"Oh." Mai said, her eyes wide. Naru felt a creeping worry etching into his facial expression and tried hard to get rid of it.

"Never mind. I'll take you home." Naru stood up and started towards the car to hide his disappointment.

"No! Wait" Mai shouted after him. Naru turned and glared at her. "I do want to move in with you, I was just a little shocked that's all."

"Good." Naru turned back around and continued on his way back to the car. Mai rushed after him and took his outstretched hand.

A month or so later, the couple moved into the house. Mai had insisted on a housewarming party much to Naru's disgust. He had allowed it as he knew Mai was nervous about them living together. He hadn't sold his apartment yet, so if things didn't work out, he could return there and Mai could stay in the house; she had stopped renting her apartment at the end of the last month.

When everyone burst into the house and Mai had poured everyone drinks, Naru slunk into the kitchen. Instead of using his office, they were now using his house as a coffee shop. Muttering to himself about irritating noisy people, he started plating up the food that he and Mai had prepared earlier.

Mai appeared in the door and grinned at him.

"Thank you for plating that up." She said. "And for letting everyone come round."

"Mai this house is yours too, you can invite whoever you like." He said. Mai shook her head gently and took the plate. Naru sighed and picked up the rest of the food with PK and took it through to the living room. Everyone was chatting happily and though their noise irritated him, Naru was glad his friends were there.

He sat in an armchair in the corner and engaged Lin in a conversation about a potential case they had received. Every now and then he glanced over at Mai and had to suppress a smile whenever he saw her laughing, even if it was Yasuhara who was telling the joke.

A little while after the food had been brought out; Madoka excused herself to go to the loo. At the time, Mai had thought nothing of it, but as she saw Lin glancing down the corridor towards where the downstairs bathroom was, she wondered if something was wrong.

"I'm just going to check on Madoka." Mai said, glancing at Lin as she stood up. He nodded at her and she headed down the corridor. Gently, she knocked on the bathroom door.

"Madoka are you okay?"

Madoka opened the door and dragged Mai inside.

"I'm sorry." She whispered. Mai looked at the toilet and noticed sick inside the bowl.

"Don't worry about it, are you ill?" She asked, concerned.

"I don't think so." There was fear in her eyes. It took Mai a whole minute to twig what Madoka meant.

"Are you serious?" Mai whispered excitedly. Madoka didn't respond for a while.

"Well, I missed two periods and I keep puking whenever I smell sweet food. It was those cookies you put out. I used to love cookies and now I can't even smell them without feeling bad."

"Madoka! Do you know what this means?" Mai said, ecstatic. "Have you told Lin?"

"I can't! I haven't done a test." Madoka whispered back fearfully. "I have to check first. It shouldn't be able to happen, what if I'm just ill?"

"So we will check." Mai stuck her head out of the bathroom door. "Ayako! Come here!" She shouted then saw the look on Lin's face. "She is fine; just want a doctor to check her over."

Ayako poked her head around the door. Mai pulled her into the bathroom and explained while Madoka wretched into the toilet bowl again.

"So do you have a pregnancy test in your doctor kit?" Mai finished.

"No." Ayako said, apprehension written all over her face. Mai felt her face drop. "But I do have one in my handbag. What?" She asked, at Mai's shocked expression. "We all get pregnancy scares." Ayako said and darted out of the bathroom. She returned a moment later with her handbag.

Ayako fished out a packet and handed it to Madoka.

"We'll wait outside; call us back in when you want us." Mai said and dragged Ayako out. They waited outside the bathroom until Madoka called them back in. She had placed the little white stick on the edge of the sink and seemed to be determined not to look.

"Can I be godmother?" Mai asked, while they waited. She knew that these tests took a few minutes. Madoka didn't answer. "I think I'd be a better godmother than Ayako." Mai added.

"No you wouldn't." Ayako said tersely. "I have a stable job and would be able to care for a child better."

"I have a stable job!" Mai retorted, poking Ayako in the side.

"Stop arguing." Madoka said. Then a little beeping sound hissed out of her watch. She turned off the timer. "What does it say? I can't look."

Mai snatched up the little white stick before Ayako could and she squealed. Dropping the test on the floor she launched herself at Madoka. Ayako glanced at the test before jumping on Madoka too.

"Oh my!" Mai exclaimed happily. "You're going to be a mother! You and Lin can get married!"

Ayako joined in with Mai's squeals before falling silent as a knock on the door interrupted their celebrations on the bathroom floor.

"What is going on in there?" Lin's deep voice penetrated through the door.

"Come in." Madoka said quietly. Lin opened the door and took in the scene. He looked from the test on the floor to Madoka, who nodded shyly. His face split into a wide grin. Mai and Ayako moved out of the way, so he could embrace his girlfriend.

**Author's note: Just wrapping everything up now. I might end up editing the story a bit so I might extend this chapter in future, I feel its a little rushed at the moment. One chapter left! Please review! **


	25. Chapter 25

About eight years later…

A young girl was running up the garden to a man sat just outside a summerhouse.

"Daddy!" She yelled. "Kenchiro is cheating at hide and seek!"

"And what do you want me to do about it Himeko?" Naru said, not looking away from his book.

"Well you said I wasn't allowed to use PK on him…"

Naru looked down at his daughter; she had inherited his eyes and her mother's smile.

"Well if you can use it without getting caught, then go for it. I would advise using it to pull his trousers down. That should embarrass him thoroughly without causing any real damage."

Himeko ran off back down the garden and Naru watched her go. A voice from within the summerhouse, which was now Naru's home office, caused Naru to turn.

"You really shouldn't encourage her." Lin said. "I have to deal with his whining."

"Well he shouldn't cheat at hide and seek then." Naru returned to his book. Lin came out and sat down next to Naru.

"I did tell him, but I think he likes winding her up."

Naru did not respond. He was pretending to read, but really he was thinking back to when he used to enjoy winding up someone else.

"Lunch time!" His wife's voice brought him out of his thoughts. Mai and Madoka were carrying plates of sandwiches for everyone. As he took one, he returned to his previous train of thought.

He had proposed to Mai on New Year's eve, just after returning from visiting his parents all those years ago. His mother and father had loved Mai, as he knew they would, but it had been their reassurances that had hardened his resolve to ask Mai to marry him.

"Are you alright Naru?" Mai asked, sounding worried. He looked around at her and smiled a real genuine smile.

"Yes." He leant over and kissed her.

"Eww!" The two children started making puking noises which made Naru and Mai laugh.

"You're so gross Dad." Himeko said, rolling her eyes.

"They aren't as gross as Ayako and Monk though." Kenchiro said. "They are old and slobber all over each other."

"One day you'll be old and want to slobber all over someone." Madoka pointed out.

"No I won't. Kissing is gross." He said stubbornly and then hit Himeko on the arm. "You're it!" He scrambled away from the girl and started running down the length of the garden before tripping seemingly over nothing.

"Himeko, I told you that you could only use PK if you don't get caught." Naru reprimanded. His daughter pouted up at him before running after her friend.

Mai laughed and rested her head on Naru's shoulder. He smiled down at her, content.

Fin.

**Author's note: Thank you all for reading, I may edit this story at some point because I'm not entirely happy with how I've written the last few chapters. But please review!**


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